


Bad Girls Bring Heaven To You

by DreaDuQuesne



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, Minor Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:14:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 48,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22209238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreaDuQuesne/pseuds/DreaDuQuesne
Summary: Barbara and Poison Ivy have been enemies for a long while. Ivy opens up to the vigilante prompting Barbara to have a change of heart about the villain but things get complicated when they begin having feelings for each other.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Pamela Isley
Comments: 18
Kudos: 87





	1. Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy opens up to Barbara. Barbara's sudden change of heart alarms Bruce.

Batgirl raced down the highway on her motorcycle and she was pissed. Another GCPD cop was laid up in the hospital clinging to life all because of Poison Ivy. 

Batman told her to leave it alone for now. He said Ivy would be dealt with but considering Joker was a bigger fish Batman wanted to fry, she knew it would be awhile so she decided to handle Ivy herself.

~~~~~~~~~~

Batgirl parked her ride at the end of the road that led to Ivy's house. Normally she would've gone the more stealthier route but she knew that Ivy knew she was here so she walked straight up to the front door.

To her surprise, the door was unlocked. She proceeded inside with caution because this definitely was a trap. She stopped when she saw Ivy walk past her.

The older redhead was dressed in tiny shorts and a t-shirt that stopped above her belly button. Her normally green skin was tan now. She gave the bird a smirk before she disappeared behind a corner. Batgirl followed.

Ivy walked into the kitchen and turned the light on. "My babies," she said with a pout. "I think you need some fresh air."

As she went to open the window, a batarang hit her nimble fingers. "Ouch." She turned to younger woman. "To what do I owe this displeasure."

"I'm taking you in."

"Oooh. To where? Arkham? Prison?"

Batgirl was silent as she moved closer.

Ivy shook her hand before kissing the pain on her fingers away. "I suppose Arkham is a prison... for those who've actually been, anyway."

Batgirl moved swiftly with a roundhouse kick to Ivy's jaw. Ivy stumbled allowing for Batgirl grab her by the throat and pin her to the kitchen island.

"You're going away for a _very_ long time, Ivy."

Ivy chuckled as she struggled to breathe. "Atleast... be... original. I've heard that phrase... way too many times."

"That cop is on his deathbed because of you." She gripped Ivy tighter. "He has a _family_. People that care about him."

The corner of the kitchen island was piercing Ivy's back as she was pressed harder into it. Ivy closed her eyes.

"Why aren't you fighting back?"

"I'm... listening."

"To what?"

"The cop... you came here to interrogate me for... is in stable condition... sadly... the pig lives."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You shouldn't." A vine shot out from a plant behind Batgirl and snaked it's way around her neck. "Let me go so we can have a little chat... or I won't hesitate... to wring that pretty little neck of yours."

Batgirl loosened her grip on Ivy, mostly because she wanted a clear answer for the question she wanted to ask.

"Why do you do it?"

Ivy waved the vine off. "Do what?"

Batgirl stepped closer. " _Kill people_ ," she answered through gritted teeth.

"For the same reason you had me pressed up against my kitchen island, I suppose." Ivy grinned. "Or perhaps that was for your own personal pleasure."

"You're a fucking monster. We are not the same."

Ivy leaned against the kitchen island. She placed a hand on her chest, feigning offense. "Me? A monster? Harsh."

Batgirl's phone buzzed. It was a text from Batman that said _I know you went to see Ivy. She won't be willing to help us if she's in Arkham so I need you to stand down_.

She rolled her eyes. She knew he was lying. He didn't need Ivy's help, he just didn't think Batgirl could take on Ivy by herself but she adhered to the message anyway.

"Was that a text from the big, bad Bat?"

"I really, _really_ hate you." She turned and headed toward the front door.

The words hurt Ivy more than she would care to admit. She walked over to the kitchen window and opened it. "Superman can hear everything."

Batgirl stopped in her tracks. "What?"

Ivy stroked one of her potted plants. "He can hear children crying because their father had way too much to drink. He can hear workers screaming because they're trapped in a burning building. He can hear the heartbeat of a homeless man who lives in a park."

The younger redhead finally turned around. "What's your point, Ivy?"

"I can hear things too," Ivy said, her voice small. "I can hear the Green crying when a child pulls a dandelion from it's place in a garden simply to blow the petals away."

Batgirl felt a sudden need to move in closer and listen. So she did, leaning against the fridge and crossing her arms.

"I can hear the sounds of my babies crying when construction workers remove them from the dirt so that a corrupt company can be built in it's place. I can hear the disgust in their voices when that same homeless man pulls out his junk and relieves himself on them."

Batgirl's undivided attention was on Ivy. She was listening to understand and Ivy appreciated it.

"Superman can choose when and when not to listen." Ivy smiled sadly. "I wasn't afforded that luxury when I became Poison Ivy. I can hear everything all at once."

"And it makes you crazy."

Ivy walked over to the girl and pointed a finger in her face. "I'm not crazy," Ivy spat. "When you listen to the police radio or whatever device you use to tell you when people are hurting, what do you do?"

"I put on the cowl and do my job but I don't need to murder people to get it done."

"Maybe you should." Ivy moved closer, her face inches away from Batgirl. "Don't you think Gotham would be better off if those pesky villains weren't around anymore? I know you've thought about killing them. Killing _me_."

"What I think doesn't matter because I would never go through with it."

"For your sake, I hope you never do."

Batgirl stared into the bright green orbs of the metahuman standing before her. She could see the sadness and the pain behind her eyes. The rage and the confusion.

"Are you hearing them right now? The voices."

"I hear them every moment of every day."

"And the only way to stop it is to end their suffering." It was that moment Batgirl finally understood. "No matter the cost."

Ivy chuckled. "Of all the morons in the Bat family, you were always my favorite."

"Then promise me something."

"No."

"Promise me you'll find another way to end the suffering of the Green that doesn't involve you killing people."

"What part of no don't you understand? Those men deserve to die."

Batgirl ignored her. "I will even dedicate part of my time to help you with a campaign for your cause. Just- no more killing."

Ivy rolled her eyes. "You're no fun at all."

"Promise me, Ivy."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Because I don't want to disappoint you was what she wanted to say and it was true. Ivy was never one to break a promise and as much as she hated the female vigilante, she didn't want to disappoint her.

But Ivy had already been vulnerable enough for one day. Instead, she settled on, "I only make promises to people I care about."

Batgirl brushed past her, heading for the front door. "Bye, Ivy."

Ivy stood in the middle of the kitchen. When she heard the door shut, she walked over to the window and closed it.

"The only other person who listened to me, and I mean really listened, was Harley," she said as she stroked one of her plants. "She really listened to me.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy sat down at the bar of the restaurant. She tapped her fingers on the on the wooden surface as she waited for Harley. There was only one other person there besides herself and the bartender and she was getting impatient.

She pulled out her phone. She had one new text from her pale girlfriend. _Sorry Ives. The Gang of Harley's and I had some business to take care of. Rain check?_ "

She placed her phone back in her pocket and sighed. When she declined Harley's request to move in with her, she did it so that she could focus more on her connection to The Green. Now that she was away from the needy blonde, the human side of her longed for a connection and she hated it. She hated feeling lonely.

Joey, the bartender leaned over the bar. "Can I get you anything?"

"A salad and a glass of beet juice."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Beet juice? What in the hell is that?" 

"Nevermind," she said. "I'll just have a salad."

"Lucky you, I just got some fresh produce delivered today. A fresh salad coming right up." He disappeared through the double doors.

Ivy scanned the restaurant. She spotted a redheaded woman with glasses who sat at a table alone.

The woman was tearing into her burger and french fries, paying Ivy no attention at all. She looked up just as Ivy had seductively crossed her legs.

Ivy hadn't had sex since she last saw Harley, which was weeks ago, and she was in a mood. She sauntered over to the woman. "This seat taken?"

"No," the woman answered.

Ivy sat down. "Never talk with your mouth full, darling. It's impolite."

The woman raised an eyebrow at Ivy. She took a napkin and wiped her mouth. "You're Poison Ivy."

"In the flesh."

The man who sat a few tables down scrambled to put money on the table and left as quickly as possible.

The redhead pushed her fries forward. "No thank you," Ivy said. "You're Barbara Gordon, right? The Commissioner's little one."

"I am."

"Your father is also good friends with Batman."

"Yup," Barbara said before sipping her drink.

Ivy squinted. "I'm sure your father has told you a lot about me."

Barbara shrugged. "He has."

"So you know what I'm capable of?"

" _Yeah_..."

"Yet, you don't seem afraid."

"Should I be?"

Ivy liked this game. Perhaps the night wasn't a complete bust after all. "Most people are."

"I'm not most people." Barbara popped a fry into her mouth.

Ivy traced her tongue over her lips. "No, you are not."

Barbara leaned in, her voice low. "Are you _flirting_ with me?"

"Only if it's working."

"Oh, it is but it's probably just the pheromones."

"I don't use them on women."

"Mmhmm." Barbara took a sip of her drink. "So, what brings you here to this crackshack?"

"I was waiting for a friend but she cancelled on me. You?"

"Joey makes the best burgers."

Joey walked over to the women. "Damn right I do." He sat the salad and a fork down in front of Ivy. "Enjoy!" He walked back to the bar as another customer walked in.

Ivy began eating. She paused when she saw Barbara staring at her.

Barbara's giggle irritated Ivy.

"What's so funny?"

Barbara cleared her throat, noticing the seriousness of Ivy's tone. "Nothing. I mean, you're a plant, right? But you're eating plants. Isn't that cannibalism?"

"The human side still needs to be properly nourished and I don't think eating greasy burgers and soggy fries is gonna sit well with me."

"Hey, don't knock it til you try it."

Ivy went back to eating her salad.

Barbara tilted her head. She couldn't help but stare at the villainess. It was so odd seeing Ivy be such a normal person in a normal setting doing normal things like eating with a fork.

"Usually I don't mind when people stare but doing it while I eat is very annoying," Ivy said without looking up at Barbara.

Barbara looked at her watch. "Shit. I have to go."

This time Ivy did look up. "So soon?"

"Yeah." Barbara stood up. "Early shift at the library tomorrow. You should stop by sometime, you know, when you're not being all-"

"Poisonous?"

"I was gonna say flirty but I guess that works too."

Ivy eyed her curiously before turning her attention back to her salad. "I'll think about it."

Barbara went into her bag and placed a twenty dollar bill on the table. "Tell Joey I said keep the change." She headed toward the door and walked out of the restaurant.

Ivy sighed as she watched Barbara walk away. "So much for a good time."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy pulled out her key and unlocked her door. She shut the door behind her and walked into her dining room.

Ivy jumped when the light flickered on. "Well, well, well," Selina said as she sat on one end of the sofa.

"Jesus fucking christ, Selina."

"Serves you right. You've been in Gotham for weeks and haven't bothered to call or text me."

Ivy sat on the opposite end of the couch. "I've been busy. Must've slipped my mind," she lied.

Selina pouted as she crawled over to Ivy. "Too busy even for me?"

"Yes, now get out of my house."

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Not particularly. No." Ivy walked into the kitchen and turned on the light.

Selina rolled her eyes as she followed behind her. "Whatever. I know you missed me."

Ivy went over to check on her plants. "About as much as I'd miss an STD if I ever had one."

Selina laughed as she reached into a cabinet and pulled out a wine glass. "So, how have you been?"

"I'd be a lot better if you left."

"Something isn't right with you." Selina reached into another cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine.

Ivy knitted her brows. "What?"

"Our playfully witty banter," Selina responded, pouring herself a glass of wine. "You never told me to get out before."

"I have told you that. Many, many times." 

"Yeah but you normally say it with love." The brunette sipped her wine. "How's Harley? I know leaving wasn't easy for either of you."

"She's got her friends in Coney Island and I've got The Green so I'd say we're both fine."

Selina finished her glass. "In you're case, I'd say you're definitely lying."

Ivy glared at Selina. "I am fine."

"Oh, sweetie. You're not and that's okay. All you need is a warm body to lay with at night." She went to pour herself another glass but Ivy snatched the bottle.

"What I need is for you to stop raiding my wine cabinet everytime you visit me after you've broken up with your billionaire boy toy."

"That obvious, huh?"

Ivy took a sip from the bottle. She thought for a second before handing it back to Selina. "Have at it. I'm going to bed." She disappeared around a corner.

"It's only 8pm. You're not a child."

"I never said I was going to sleep," Ivy yelled.

"I'll be in there shortly," Selina yelled back. She poured herself another glass of wine.

"I'm locking my door."

Selina mouthed, "1... 2... 3..."

"Which is pointless because it won't keep you out!"

"That's my girl," Selina said, raising her glass before gulping it down.

An hour later, Ivy was curled up in her blanket as she watched the Food Network channel.

Selina stumbled into her bedroom. She stripped down into her black, laced bra and panty set and crawled into bed next to Ivy.

Ivy could feel Selina's gaze on her but kept her eyes on the television. "How much did you have to drink?"

"Three -hic-."

"Glasses?"

"-hic- Bottles."

"Selina!"

"I'm kidding! -hic- It was one and a half."

"You are _insufferable_." She turned her attention back to the TV.

A minute later, she felt a hand trailing up her thigh. "Cat. Stop." She moved the hand before it went any further.

"It's nothing we haven't done before," Selina whispered.

An annoyed Ivy closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "You're inebriated. Go to sleep"

Selina grunted. "I hate it here."

Ivy chuckled to herself.

"It's not funny."

"If I give you a kiss, will you go to sleep?"

"No... _yes_."

Ivy leaned over and softly kissed Selina on the lips.

"Mmmm," Selina moaned as Ivy broke the kiss. "You smell good."

"Go to sleep, Kitty."

Five minutes later, Selina was sound asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy walked into Gotham S.T.A.R. Labs wearing a sleek black skirt that stopped just above the knee, a silk green button up and heels to match. She made her over to a receptionist.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

"My name is Dr. Paula Irving. I have an appointment with Dr. Andrew Raymond."

"Hmm," the receptionist said. "He's in a meeting right now. Should be finishing up as we speak. You're more than welcome to take a seat over there." The woman pointed to an empty couch across from her desk.

"I'll stand," Ivy replied. She was most definitely not about to sit on that couch. God knows who's sat there.

Five minutes passed and Ivy was growing more and more irritated by the second. She decided to walk to Dr. Raymond's office.

Before she could knock on the door, Dr. Raymond was ushering Dr. Don Simmons out of his office.

Dr. Raymond was chuckling, presumably from a joke that was told before the door opened, and it irritated Ivy even more. She hadn't been waiting for ten minutes just so these two fuckwads could make jokes.

Both men paused as they noticed Ivy. Dr. Simmons nodded before he slipped past her on his way down the hall.

"You must be Paula Irving," 

" _Dr,_ " Ivy corrected.

"Pardon?"

" _Dr_. Paula Irving. PhD."

"Ahh yes," the man chuckled. "My apologies Dr. Irving. Come in and have a seat." He stepped aside, allowing Ivy to enter.

"Thank you." Ivy entered the office and sat down in the empty chair across from his.

Dr. Raymond sat in his chair behind the desk. "I understand you're here to interview for the Director of Biochemical Research position."

"Not exactly," Ivy said, confusion apparent in her expression. "Considering I sent you my resume, I assumed the position was already mine."

"Cocky. I like it." He sipped the coffee that sat on his desk. "If the circumstances were different, the job would definitely be yours. You are the most qualified candidate we've ever had."

"I'm not understanding what the issue is then."

Dr. Raymond leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him. "I know who you are. I know what you really are."

Ivy shifted her eyes to a picture of Dr. Raymond with his wife and two children. "And who am I, Dr. Raymond?"

Dr. Raymond traced her line of sight. He gulped hard. "Poison Ivy."

Ivy turned back to him. "And I presume you know the things I'm willing to do when I don't get what I want, especially when it's something I _really_ want."

Dr. Raymond nodded.

"332 Lincoln Drive."

Dr. Raymond furrowed his brows. "How do- how do you know where I live?"

"Hmph." Ivy leaned over and picked up the picture. "I don't want to hurt you or your family, Dr." She stroked it gently. "I just want to be the new Director of Biochemical Research and if you know what's best, you'll reconsider."

"Fine," Dr. Raymond replied, his voiced laced with anger. "The position is yours. You can start Monday, just leave them out of it."

"Gladly." Ivy sat the picture down. "Now tell me, Dr. Raymond, who else here knows I'm Poison Ivy?"

"Only me, I guess."

"Good." Ivy stood up, smoothing out her skirt. "Then that's settled. Enjoy the rest of your day, Dr. Raymond."

Although she was slightly heated, Ivy left the office satisfied.

~~~~~~~~

Batgirl sat in her swivel chair inside her headquarters beneath the Gotham City Public Library. She had her feet up on a table as she threw popcorn from a bowl into her mouth.

It was almost 8pm and the city had been quiet most of the day. It usually was on a Thursday night. She figured most of the bad guys were gearing up for the weekend so when an alert sounded on the large monitor in front of her, she almost fell backwards out of the chair.

"Fuck," she said as bits of popcorn found their way on the floor of her cave. She placed the bowl on the table and walked over to the monitor. She squinted as she saw the Ivy entering the library on one of the cameras.

Batgirl stood up and walked over to a broom and dustpan sitting in a dark corner. She returned to the mess and began cleaning it up.

It had been two days since she last saw the curvy bombshell at Joey's and she couldn't stop thinking about how normal she seemed. When Ivy was around her as Barbara, Ivy seemed more relaxed. With Batgirl, up until last week, she was way more tense and kept her guard up but maybe that was due to the fact that Batgirl was seen as an authority figure, although surely one Ivy had 0 respect for.

Batgirl emptied the trash into a nearby can and put the broom and dustpan back in it's spot. Despite how much she hated the redhead, she still wanted to know more about Ivy and Ivy was likely to open up more if she didn't know she was talking to a Bat.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy walked down one of the aisles of the library. Deep down, she cringed at the amount of trees that had to be chopped down for the sake of knowledge, but she also understood how important knowledge was. Not that humanity ever did much with it anyway.

She wasn't looking for anything in particular but a book did catch her eye and she snorted at the title.

Barbara unconsciously smiled when she heard it. "That's adorable." She walked up the aisle and stood next to Ivy.

Ivy side-eyed her. "Shut up."

Barbara searched the shelf for the only book that could be humorous to someone like Ivy. "Botany For Dummies." She pulled it off the shelf. "Who would've thought that Poison Ivy was a dummy."

"You do know that I have PhD in the subject, right?"

Barbara let out a breathy laugh. "That was a joke, Ivy."

"Clearly not a good one." Ivy turned to the younger woman, studying her. "You're oddly comfortable around me and I find it _extremely_ unsettling."

Barbara placed the book on the shelf. "What made you come then?"

"I was intrigued."

"By what? My good looks and charm?"

"No," Ivy said as she moved closer, her heels making her tower over Barbara. "By the fact that you think I was foolish enough to not know that you're," Ivy pressed a hand to the younger woman's chest where that pesky symbol of hope would be and whispered, " _Batgirl_."

Barbara nervously stepped back. She cursed herself for believing Ivy didn't know. "Are you gonna kill me?"

Ivy removed her hand. "If I killed a Bat, I'd have to go on the run again and threatening Dr. Raymond so he'd give me the job I deserve will have been for nothing."

Barbara thrusted her forearm into Ivy's throat and backed her into the bookshelf. "I'm not letting you get that job."

"Why? Aren't you happy? I'll be too preoccupied with my work to go on a killing spree."

She's right, Barbara thought. If Ivy had something to focus on that didn't involve her murdering CEO's with deadly toxins, she could do some real good for the Green. Not that Barbara cared. She released her grip on Ivy.

Ivy straightened her clothes. "Choking isn't a kink I prefer so the next time you decide to place a hand or a forearm anywhere near my neck, _I will kill you very, very slowly_."

"Promises, promises."

"Tell your boss I said "Hi.""

"He is not my boss. I work alone, thank you very much."

Ivy booped her nose. "Sure you do."

Barbara smacked her hand away. Ivy left the aisle, her melodic laugh trailing behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Barbara walked through the doors of the Batcave. Bruce was standing in front of a pile of Arkham files. He wore his suit but his mask was sitting on the table.

Barbara came in further. "You wanted to see me?"

"It's been brought to my attention that you've been spending time with Ivy without your cowl."

Barbara crossed her arms. "Have you been _spying_ on me?"

"Dr. Raymond called me yesterday. He told me Ivy threatened him and his family and forced him to give her the job as the new Director of Biochemical Research. I assume you know."

"I do."

"And you did nothing."

Barbara pointed an accusatory finger at him. "When I went to lock her up, you're the one who told me to stand down and I listened." She shook her head, remembering her conversation with Ivy. "For some dumbass reason, I _listened_."

"You were rushing into a situation with no backup. _That's_ why I told you to stand down but make no mistake, Ivy is better off in Arkham where she can get the help she needs."

"So, what? She can keep breaking out and killing whoever she pleases?" Barbara asked. "Did you ever stop to think for _one_ second that her working at S.T.A.R. Labs could be a good thing? It's giving her a non violent way to fight for the Green."

Bruce put the lid on a box of files. "Since when have you become a champion of Poison Ivy? Two weeks ago you wouldn't have hesitated to haul her off to Arkham. What's changed?"

Barbara shrugged. "She's trying. Not much but it's _something_ , right? She could've killed Dr. Raymond but she didn't."

"Instead she threatened to kill the poor man's family."

Barbara couldn't disagree with that and she wasn't even going to try. "If you wanna lock her up then be my guest, Bruce, but you know like I know that if you do, it's not gonna end well because poking a sleeping bear never does. In this case, I prefer to monitor from a distance."

With that, Barbara exited the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~

At S.T.A.R. Labs, Ivy walked down the hallway on her way to her new office. It was her first day of work and she had just come from lunch.

"Hello, Dr. Raymond. I didn't see you this morning," she said as she passed the angry man.

Dr. Raymond let out a deep sigh. "You've got a visitor in your office, Dr. Irving."

Ivy was confused. "Who?"

"Go see for yourself."

"Tsk tsk tsk. Hostility was _not_ apart of the deal," Ivy stated. She continued down the hall. She hated surprises so she had no intention of picking up her pace.

When she finally reached her office, she opened the door and saw a blonde, who was preoccupied with the files next to her, sitting on her desk.

Ivy walked in further. "Harley?"

Harley looked up from the files and perked up when she saw Ivy. "Hi Red!" She got off the desk and jumped into Ivy's arms. She planted a long, lingering kiss on Ivy's lips. "Did ya miss me?"

Ivy gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I did."

"Aww shucks," Harley blushed as Ivy sat her down. "Yer office is amazing. It's so big and spacious. Lotta room to do stuff," she said, nudging Ivy and wagging her brows.

Ivy playfully slapped her arm. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. The gang an' I have been making an honest living, as you know, but I do miss ya a lot."

"I know," Ivy sighed as she sat down in her chair. She really did miss Harley but she also knew the blonde needed to learn how to be independent and Ivy needed to put her focus into the Green. "I promise I'll come visit once I'm settled in here."

Harley traced the letters on one of the files. "You meet any new friends?"

Ivy thought of Barbara before internally rolling her eyes. She'd hardly consider that girl a friend. "No but I have caught up with some old ones."

"Oooh like who? Riddler? Clayface?"

"The furball."

"Aww, I missed Kitty too."

"Harley, you really shouldn't be here in Gotham."

"Cause of Mr. J? Yeah, I know he's out an' about but I don't care. I came to see you Pam-a-lamb. 'Sides, I gave that asshat the asskickin' of his life." 

Harley sauntered behind Ivy's desk and sat in her lap, facing the redhead. "Say, why don't we go out tonight?"

"I would love to but," Ivy pointed to the stack of files on her desk, "I have a lot of work to do and I can't have any distractions."

Harley pouted as she unbuttoned Ivy's shirt. "I thought I was yer _favorite_ distraction?" She leaned forward and nipped at Ivy's neck.

"Harley," Ivy breathed out. "I can't."

"But you want to, Red," Harley whispered in her ear. "I know you want to."

Ivy shuddered. She threw her head back as Harley traced her tongue from her neck to the swole of her breasts. "Harley," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I have work to do but you can come by my apartment tonight."

Harley shrugged. "Okay, Red, but yer gonna be super achey all day until you get home."

Ivy couldn't help but smile as Harley buttoned her shirt back up. "I'll manage."

"See ya layta." Harley gave Ivy a peck. She removed herself from the older woman's lap and left the office.

Ivy let out a deep, deep sigh. She wanted nothing more than to run after Harley and go home with her but work had to come first.

Ivy noticed a dark figure leaning over the banister of her outdoor balcony. She stood up and walked over to the glass door. She slid it open.

"This isn't creepy at all," she said as she shut the door behind her. "How long have you been here?"

Batgirl continued looking out onto the streets below. "Since the moment Harley sat in your lap."

"You should've joined us." Ivy leaned against the banister and faced the vigilante.

"Three's a crowd."

Ivy internally rolled her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I was in the area. Thought I'd come and check up on you."

A skeptical look was on Ivy's face as she turned to gaze at the Gotham skyline. "I take it Batman made you my designated Bat friend."

"I don't work for him"

"As long as you wear that symbol on your chest, Batman is the one who calls all the shots. Sometimes you don't even realize it."

"And as long as you stay on your best behavior, you'll stay out of Arkham."

"Why do you care?"

Batgirl finally turned to her. "I don't. Not about you, atleast." She turned away. "Batman was wrong. Gotham is much safer if you're in here." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a smile tugging at Ivy's lips

"You talk to the Bat about me? Good things, I hope." Ivy said.

"Don't you have work to do?"

"I do," Ivy said, "and then after that, I'll go home and devour Harley whole because It's been way too long since-"

"Please _stop_." Barbara scrunched her face up under the cowl. "What is it with you and Harley, anyway? Are you two friends? Friends with benefits? _Girlfriends_?"

Ivy turned to her. "I didn't know you had any interest in my sex life."

Batgirl shook her head. She really set herself up for failure by asking the question.

"She's my best friend and the only human worth anything to me." Ivy tapped her fingers on the banister. "We also have a lot of sex but our partners are not limited to each other."

Batgirl shifted the subject. "Maybe you should try to get to know more humans. We're not all bad."

"You and I could never be friends, Batgirl. It goes against our nature as enemies."

Batgirl moved closer to Ivy. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Was that not a question?"

"When did you know I was Batgirl?"

"The moment you thrusted your forearm into my neck."

Batgirl was confused. So Ivy didn't know she was the gold and black Bat?

"I had my suspicions but I never had any concrete evidence besides you having red hair and being close to Gordon." Ivy brushed a red strand out of hair out of her face. "Now that I think about it, it's kind of funny."

"What's funny?"

"I was going to seduce you that night at Joey's but you left and I'm not much of a chaser." Ivy playfully bit her lip.

Batgirl leaned forward, blinking more times than Ivy could count. "I'm sorry, _what_?"

Ivy retreated back into her office. "The sexy liberian look works _wonders_ for you." She stood in the doorway and slowly slid the door closed. She blew Batgirl a kiss.


	2. You've got a good heart, Barbara Gordon.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy enlists Selina to steal a secret formula from Terracare. Barbara gets a visit from an old friend.

Ivy finished up in the lab, making sure everything was spotless for the next person to enter. She grabbed her files off the table and left.

A woman walking toward her perked up as she closed the lab door behind her. "Director Irving, just the woman I was looking for!"

Ivy continued walking as she passed the woman. "I would love to chat but I have somewhere to be," she said, which wasn't a complete lie. She'd been at work all day and missed her bed dearly.

"I'm Alisa Adams," she continued, following behind Ivy. "I work with Dr. Simmons."

"Oh, right. You're his assistant." Ivy slowed her place, allowing Alisa to catch up. "I'm familiar with your thesis on plant growth regulators."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Ivy turned into her office. "Plant growth regulators?" She sat the files on her desk and leaned against it. 

"Not exactly. I assume you've heard about the honey shortages in South Africa, the U.S., Australia and China."

Ivy crossed her arms as Alisa stood in front of her. "I have. Some people write it off as air pollution, neonics in pesticides, climate change or parasites because they've all caused bee devastation in the past."

"You can't believe that though, right?"

"Of course I don't. There's something else at play." She handed Alisa one of the files. "That's what I've been working on." 

Alisa read over the files. 

"There's a specific pattern. It took months but I finally realized the soil is the culprit."

Alisa looked up at Ivy. "It says in here that each location used the eco-friendly, sustainable fertilizer from Terracare."

"I... obtained a sample of the fertilizer a few weeks ago."

Alisa's eyes went wide. "You're the one who injured that cop. You- You're-"

Ivy leaned in, extending a hand. "Poison Ivy. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Alisa proceeded with caution and shook it. "Wow. Okay. Umm. I also thought maybe it was the fertilizer that was the cause.

Ivy ignored the statement. "You're not afraid of me?"

"Uhh... yeah. A little. You're not gonna- are you gonna kill me? Because I know?"

"Not unless you give me a reason. Anyway, I've been studying it all night and I didn't find anything odd in the sample. It's a legit fertilizer as far as I can tell."

"I have a friend who works for Benedict Dillon. He said Mr. Dillon has some kind of top secret ingredient he keeps in a vial labeled "Mother Nature's Helper." It's locked up in a vault."

Ivy thought for a moment. "Perhaps this "Mother Natures Helper" is the breakthrough I've been looking for. Does your friend still work there?"

"Yeah but he doesn't have clearance to access it."

Ivy raised a perfect brow. "I think I know somebody that does."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Selina," Ivy yelled as she walked into her house and closed the door. She placed the keys on the coffee table. "Honey I'm home!"

"Honey?" Selina responded, walking down the hallway wearing a silk, black robe.

"Is that my robe?"

"That's beside the point, Pamela. You only "honey" me when you need something." Selina squinted. "What is it?"

"Number one, don't call me that. You manage to say it in a way that makes me feel like an old woman."

"You kinda are-"

"I'm 33. Number two, I need you to retrieve something in a vial labeled "Mother Nature's Helper." It's locked up in a vault at Terracare on the 9th floor."

"Ooooh a heist. I haven't stolen anything in two whole days so count me in."

Ivy pointed to the robe. "You stole that."

"I _borrowed_ it. Big difference." Selina rubbed the black fabric on her face. "Mmmm and it's nice and warm."

Ivy shook her head as she started toward the kitchen. "I'm gonna make something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"A nice, fat, juicy steak," Selina said following Ivy into the kitchen.

Ivy opened the fridge. "I don't have-" The usually empty fridge was filled food. "What is this?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just did a little shopping. The poor thing looked so sad and... _empty_ inside." Selina snickered.

Ivy shoulders slumped. "There's nothing in here that I like."

"Do you ever open up the other door?" Selina walked over to the fridge and opened the other door. "I got you all the goods."

Ivy marvelled at the fruits and vegetables that filled the other side of the fridge she was definitely going to open more. "Thanks, Kitty." She pulled out package containing a t-bone steak.

"Don't mention it," Selina said, pushing Ivy toward the stove. "Now. Off you go. I have a vial to steal."

"Alright, alright."

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara heard a soft knock on her door from where she sat in her recliner. She made her way over to the door and looked through the peephole.

"Hey, dad," she said, opening the door. She gave him a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't a father visit his little girl?" Jim asked. He stepped in as Barbara closed the door.

"It's almost 11pm."

"I know, I've just been busy with work. I feel like I haven't spent much time with you lately."

Barbara was skeptical. He rarely ever popped up without telling her. In fact, anytime he did, their conversations always ended on bad terms. Luckily she wasn't in the mood to argue. "I was just heading to bed."

"Your chair is still reclined and you have an unfinished crossword puzzle sitting on your coffee table next to a steaming cup of tea. Green?"

"Earl grey," Barbara smiled. She sat back in her recliner. "What really brought you over? Was it Batman?" She picked up her tea and sipped it.

"He did tell me that you've been spending time with Poison Ivy." He sat down on the sofa next to her chair. "Emphasis on the _poison_."

Barbara scoffed. "I would hardly call it _spending_ time."

"She's dangerous, Barbara."

"I know that, dad. I don't need you or the Bat to keep reminding me."

"He's just trying to look out for you."

"What he wants is for me to rejoin his Batgang." Barbara took another sip before setting the cup on a coaster. "He doesn't think I can do it alone and truth be told, you don't either. You both think I need him and I don't. I can handle myself. I've been handling myself and if Ivy starts causing trouble again, I'll handle her too."

"You make it hard to believe you ever hated her."

Barbara leaned back in her chair. She exhaled a deep sigh. "Hate is a relatively strong word."

Jim chuckled. "I can't lie and say that I love the idea of my little girl running around in a suit and locking up the most dangerous criminals in Gotham, but I do believe you can do it alone, Barbara. Doesn't mean I _want_ you too."

"I have the Birds. We still come together from time to time."

Jim nodded. "Listen, I trust you, Barbara. It's people like Ivy and Joker and Riddler I don't trust." He stood up.

Barbara stood up as well. "Love you, dad." She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll let myself out," Jim said. "See you."

Barbara waved goodbye and went back to her crossword.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy plated her sauteed vegetables. She took the plate and walked out onto her terrace. She stopped in her tracks as she saw Barbara sitting in one of the chairs at the table.

"Just like a Bat," Ivy said before sitting down across from Barbara.

"None for me? Awww."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Are you here?"

"Oh. I was just taking a late night drive and somehow ended up here."

Ivy smiled as she moved her fork around her plate. "You could just be honest and say that you enjoy my company." She ate a forkful of veggies.

Barbara chuckled. "That would imply I actually like you."

"Oh, but you do."

"Mmmm not really."

Ivy shrugged. "I think I'm quite charming."

Barbara gave her a look as if she didn't believe it. "You're too cocky to be charming."

Ivy pointed the fork at her. "I'm confident, not cocky." She poked at her vegetables. "There is a difference, you know."

Barbara shook her head, a smile on her face. "How's work?"

Ivy looked up at her. "Are you actually interested or do you just not like silence?"

"Both."

"It's been work, I suppose."

"No breakthroughs?"

"Hmm. Well, Terracare has been using a substance in their fertilizer that's causing the bees in certain areas to die off."

Barbara leaned forward. "Is that why you broke in there?"

"I needed a sample of the fertilizer to test it," Ivy said matter-of-factly.

"You almost killed someone."

"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't trying to hurt him." Ivy ate another forkful. "He shouldn't have touched my arm while my toxicity level was high."

Barbara sat back. "Yeah, cause he's supposed to know that. Hell, I didn't even know that. Remind me why I'm here again?"

"You missed me"

Barbara ignored her. "How toxic are you right now?"

"Very," Ivy whispered in that sultry tone of hers.

Barbara shook her head. "I should get going."

"My levels are as low as they can be."

"No that's-" Barbara couldn't help but smile. "That's not why. It's getting late and you might be tired."

Ivy faked a yawn. "Sooo tired."

Barbara huffed a laugh. They sat together in a comfortable silence before Barbara spoke again.

"For what it's worth, I don't think you're a bad person," she said. "I just think you're misguided or atleast you were. That's probably why I hated you so much. You were and still are one of the brightest minds this world has to offer. You could've done so much good but you chose to kill a bunch of men that didn't really serve your purpose." She rubbed her arms as she felt a cool breeze. "I won't say that I condone threatening your way into a position but I like that you're trying to do some good. It's kind of, I don't know, inspiring."

Ivy studied the younger woman. She could tell Barbara was genuine. "I meant it when I said you were my favorite Bat."

"I'm shocked," Barbara mocked. "Here I thought for sure Batman was your favorite."

Ivy smiled. "It's past your curfew. You should get home."

"Awww. You made a joke that was actually funny." Barbara pouted.

Ivy kept her glare on Barbara as she stood up. "Goodbye, Barbara."

Ivy walked into her bedroom and changed into her pajamas which consisted of a tank top and red-laced panties. She heard a knock at the door but ignored it. She heard another knick and finally decided to answer it.

"Selina, I know you had a key made, why are you knocking?" She yelled. She swung the door open. Confusion washed over her expression.

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare tire, would you?" Barbara said, embarrassment written all over her features. She realized what Ivy was wearing and couldn't help but stare at everything from her curves to the tight tank top to what little showed of her taut abdomen.

Ivy raised her hand and used it to lean against the door frame. "Like something you see?"

"Yes," Barbara nodded before shaking her head free of her thoughts. "Nooooo. No. My car has a flat."

"Sadly for you, I don't have a car." Ivy moved to the side. She motioned for Barbara to come in. "I use my pheromones to get free cab rides." She closed the door.

"Shit. I guess I'll have to call for a ride then."

"The daughter of the great Commissioner Gordon riding alone in a cab with some creep? Nonsense. You can sleep in one of the guest bedrooms."

"I don't want to intrude."

"You're not. I'm offering."

"Offering me, Batgirl, a place to sleep in your, Poison Ivy's, house. That's... weird."

Ivy's phone beeped from it's place on the coffee table. She read the text from Selina that read: There's been a change of plans. I'll bring the vial first thing in the morning.

Ivy sighed. "I guess it's just you and me, if you'll stay that is."

Barbara nodded. "Yeah, I'll stay as long as you don't ask me to water your plants. I either put in too much or not enough."

Ivy chuckled. She led Barbara into the guest bedroom. "I'll find something of Selina's for you to wear. Then again, she doesn't wear bottoms when she sleeps so that might be hard."

"She lives here too?"

"No. She thinks it's less lonely than being at home by herself. She did go shopping so feel free to raid her part of the fridge."

"Which part is hers?"

"You'll know when you see it." Ivy walked off. A few minutes later she came back with a "Tree Hugger" t-shirt and a pair of green and white pajama shorts. She handed them to Barbara. "My room is straight down the hall if you need anything."

"Thank you."

Ivy nodded before leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Selina put on a fresh pot of coffee. She placed the steak Ivy cooked for her the night before into the oven and sat at the kitchen island, typing away on her phone.

A while later, Ivy walked into the kitchen rubbing her eyes. She came to an immediate stop in the door way when she saw Selina pulling her food out of the oven.

"Selina. What are you doing here?"

The brunette eyed Ivy skeptically as she plated her food. "I came to bring you the-"

"Oof." Barbara bumped into Ivy. She stepped from behind her and froze when she saw Selina's gaze ping-pong between her and the metahuman.

Ivy's look warned Selina not to say anything but of course, it's Selina.

"Oh my god are you two fucking?"

"No," both redheads stated.

"My car has a flat tire-"

"And I told her she could stay in the _guest_ bedroom."

Selina placed a hand on her heart. "You're already finishing each others sentences."

Ivy mouthed, "I'm gonna kill you."

Barbara opened her mouth to say something but decided against making the situation even more awkward. She turned around and went back down the hallway.

Ivy walked over to her friend and slapped her on the arm.

"Ow," Selina giggled. She cut up her steak and started eating. "You're asking for a life sentence getting involved with the Commissioner's daughter."

"We are not... involved," was Ivy's response as she pulled a mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup of coffee. "We're not even friends."

Selina raised both brows. "Uhhh you said she could spend the night. You don't even like when I spend the night. One time I had to sneak back in here after you went to sleep and left before you woke up."

"You what?"

Selina waved her off. "I didn't feel like going all the way home. Speaking of, I'm gonna be crashing here from time to time. My apartments been lonely since Bruce and I went on break."

Ivy huffed. "You crashing was implied when you filled my fridge. By the way, I know Bruce is Batman."

"Took you long enough."

Barbara walked into the kitchen wearing her clothes from the night before. "Ummm. I'm gonna call a cab. Good seeing you again, Selina." She turned to Ivy. "I'll see you."

Ivy smiled as Barbara left the kitchen.

Selina turned to Ivy with a shit eating grin on her face. "She'll see you."

Ivy waited til she heard the front door close to speak. "Where's the vial?"

Selina pulled a box from her leather jacket and handed it to Ivy. "Sitting in the vault along with that was a shit ton diamonds with my name on them."

Ivy examined the vial. "That's why you didn't bring it to me last night?"

"I had to count them, didn't I? Plus I wanted to make sure my kid neighbor was feeding my cats."

"Thank you, Kitty." Ivy walked out of the kitchen leaving Selina alone to finish eating.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alisa walked into the lab as Ivy was occupied with reading over her files.

"This can't be right," Ivy said. "The secret ingredient Terracare has been mixing with the fertilizer is a growth enhancer. It's basically bee poison."

Alisa knitted her brows. "If the colonies die, they can't pollinate Benedict's super charged crops to grow them."

"Exactly. No bees, no food. No food-"

"No people." Alisa stepped in closer. "What are going to do?"

"The only thing I can do that doesn't involve me murdering him. I'm going to continue studying the formula and try to remove the component that makes it lethal to bees." Ivy turned to Alisa. "You have some experience with growth enhancers. I could use your help."

"I-You want me to work... with you?"

"I wanted this job at S.T.A.R. Labs so that I could use their resources to try and solve this bee crisis." Ivy cleared her throat. "I understand I have a past that does me no favors when it comes to gaining one's trust but this is much bigger than me."

Alisa nodded. "Okay. I'm in, although, I don't think Dr. Simmons will be too happy that I'm leaving him to work for you."

"You wouldn't be working _for_ me, Alisa. We'd be partners."

"Either way, I'm totally in."

"Good." Ivy picked up her files and proceeded toward the door. "We'll start tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~

"The usual," Barbara said to Joey as she sat down at the bar.

"Make that two," a voice echoed from behind Barbara.

Barbara immediately recognized the voice and turned around. "My favorite Dick. How are you?" She wrapped her arms around the tall man and squeezed.

Dick picked Barbara up and spun her around before setting her down. "I've been good. What about you?"

Barbara sat down. "Same ol' same ol'."

Dick nodded in agreement as he sat next to her. "Well, it is Gotham."

"So, what brings you back? The Titans not as much fun as you thought and you miss teaming with me?" 

"I do miss the good ol' days but that's not why. I wanted to see how you were doing. I heard you left the group."

Barbara sighed. "I became... what I became... so that I could help the city, not so I can take orders from him."

"He means well."

"That's rich coming from you," Barbara said. "I take it he told you about Ivy and I spending tome together?"

Dick leaned in as if he didn't hear that correctly. "Wait what?"

"We've... hung out."

"The international implications that statement has... wow. So you and Ivy... you know..." He waggled one of his brows.

Barbara punched him in the arm. "No, we're not "fucking" as Selina so eloquently put it. We're just- I don't even know if I can say friends."

"You're civilized enemies."

"That's one way to put it." Barbara tilted her head as her thoughts flooded her mind. "Have you ever had such a strong opinion about someone and you kind of hate them because they're really shitty on the surface but then you actually make an effort to get to know them and you realize they're really not that bad?"

"Sounds like my relationship with Damian."

"I think that's everyone's relationship with Damian." They both chuckled.

"To answer your earlier question, Bruce didn't tell me about the whole Ivy thing. I haven't talked to him in weeks."

Joey brought out two trays and sat their food in front of them. "What are we drinkin?"

"I'll have a water," Dick answered.

"I'll have one too."

Joey put two glass cups on the counter. "What is this, When Harry Met Sally? "I'll have what she's having,"" he mocked as he filled the glasses.

"Oh, shut up," Barbara said as Joey handed her a glass.

Joey snickered as he handed Dick his glass. "I'm just teasing." He walked over to help a new customer.

"I don't think it's a bad thing for you to make nice with Poison Ivy." Dick plopped a fry into his mouth. "I mean, she is one of the most notorious criminals in Gotham but I trust your judgment. If you think Ivy can change for the better, I believe you."

"There is a very real possibility that I'm wrong about her. A flip could switch at any time and she's suddenly back to decapitating CEO's." Barbara bit into her burger.

"I think if she had a friend like you she'd be less likely to flip that switch. Remember that time you stopped me from pummeling that guy in the alley?"

"Which time?"

Dick nudged her. "You've got a good heart, Barbara Gordon. The world is billions of years old and somehow I managed to exist at the same time as you."

"Oh God that's soooo sappy." Barbara took another bite of her burger.

"Did you feel flirted with, though? Cause I've been thinking about using that line on Kori."

Barbara coughed as a piece of meat got stuck in her throat. "I hate you so much," she said with a smile that said otherwise.

A phone began ringing.

Barbara pulled hers out of her pocket. "Break in at the bank on 9th."

"Just like old times?"

A smile crept on Barbara's face. "Just like old times," she said before sipping her drink.


	3. So where does that leave us?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy feels Barbara is getting too close and pushes her away. Selina talks some sense into her.

Inside a vault, one of the Penguin's henchmen filled duffle bags full of money. He lifted the bags and carried them outside the vault. A smoke grenade rolled toward him, hitting his foot. "What the-"

Purple smoke surrounded the man. "I can't see," he screamed.

"That's the point," Batgirl responded as she appeared from the shadows. Another henchmen rushed her from behind. She allowed him to chase her before she ran up the wall and flipped backwards, landing behind him as he smacked into the wall.

The smoke cleared. The first henchmen was on his knees covering his eyes. "You stupid bitch." He followed the sound of her footsteps and swung at her a couple times.

Batgirl dodged every punch before landing a swift kick to his temple. He fell to the ground. Just as she turned, a third henchmen tackled her to the ground and she immediately felt the wind get knocked out of her.

She took a few quick, deep breaths before using the strength in her legs to flip the man off of her. Holding her side, she to stood up just as the henchmen did

Batgirl shot a bola at his upper body. The man collapsed to the ground, trying desperately to wriggle free of the restraints.

Nightwing ran up to the scene. "Damn. You okay?"

"I'm good. We need to get outta here." Batgirl heard police sirens as she limped put of the back exit of the bank. She got on her motorcycle with Nightwing on her back.

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara stood on the balcony of Ivy's office. She gazed out at the bright lights surrounding the dark city. "This is probably one of the best, if not the best, views of the city."

"You've seen the city from atop some of the tallest buildings," Ivy said. She closed the balcony door behind her. "Surely you've seen better views."

"From that point, I've only seen over the city. From this point, I can see through it." Barbara turned her head. "My dad told me about a break in at Terracare. Catwoman stole some diamonds and a top secret formula as well."

"You think I know about it?" Ivy said, feigning ignorance.

"Considering you broke in there a few weeks ago and the formula she stole was a secret ingredient Benedict Dillon used in his fertilizer, yes. It's also the same one you're trying to reverse engineer to make it non-lethal to bees."

Ivy leaned against the banister, a playful smirk on her lips. "You read the files on my desk."

"I did," Barbara nodded. She pursed her lips.

Ivy exhaled a deep sigh. "I had to. Those crops were killing bees and he was selling the formula to the highest bidders all over the world. I think you're intelligent enough to know the catastrophic impact of life without them."

"I do know."

"I'm saving humanity, Batgirl." Ivy leaned forward. "Isn't that what being a hero is all about? I could've just killed him but I didn't."

"You want a cookie?"

"Preferably chocolate chip."

Barbara chuckled to herself. "Truthfully, I don't care that you stole it."

"Oh, I know you don't care," Ivy said, crossing her arms as she glared at Barbara. "You just believe that me doing one bad thing will cause me to go down that same old path of crime."

Barbara tilted her head. "Something like that."

Ivy waved her off before turning to go back into her office. "I pour my heart out to you once and suddenly you care about me."

"I wouldn't necessarily say I care," Barbara said as Ivy slid the door open. "You are growing on me, though. Like a zit you tried desperately to make go away but keeps popping up and you just accept it." 

"Hmmm. Can't say I know what that's like," Ivy said.

Barbara followed Ivy into her office. "You've never had a zit? Not even before you became Mother of All Plants?"

"I've always had a healthy diet since I was a child. No processed foods. No potato chips, no disgusting amounts of high fructose corn syrup, no zits. Although, I am aware some skincare issues are genetic."

Ivy noticed Barbara wincing as she walked across the office. "You're hurt."

"It's just a bruised rib. I'll be fine."

Ivy instinctively moved her hand to Barbara's side before the vigilante smacked it away.

"It still hurts, jeez."

"You shouldn't be moving around to much," Ivy chided. "How did you get in here anyway? Barbara Gordon just waltzed through the front door?"

"Fortunately for me, the receptionist doesn't know who I am. Unfortunately for me, I had to tell her I was your fiancee because she wouldn't let me pass."

Ivy glared at the younger woman. "You told her _what_?"

Barbara chuckled nervously. "Surprise! We're getting married next summer in Paris!"

Ivy shook her head as she walked over to her desk to retrieve her purse.

"On the bright side, she thinks your fiancee is " _very_ beautiful.""

"Why are you doing all this?" Ivy snapped as she started toward Barbara. "Visiting me at work. Coming over to my house at night and pretending like we're best friends." She towered over the younger woman. "Did Bruce put you up to this?"

"No- I-"

"Then why, Barbara?" Ivy asked. "We're not friends."

"I know," Barbara said as she brushed past Ivy on her way out of the office.

Ivy slumped her shoulders, immediately feeling guilty. Perhaps snapping wasn't the best way to handle it but pride stopped her from chasing after Barbara.

~~~~~~~~~~

Batgirl stood on top of an abandoned building in Gotham. It was a windy night and her cape flapped harshly in the wind.

Ivy was right, they weren't friends and hearing the redhead say it out loud kind of stung a little. She was upset at herself for even trying.

"I'm not in the mood," she said, hearing the quiet footsteps of Robin behind her.

"If you refuse to work with my father, why do you continue to wear that symbol on your chest?"

Batgirl turned her head but her body stood still. "What?"

Robin crossed his arms. "I think I was clear enough."

"It's a symbol of hope for the people of this city, not a symbol of my loyalty to Batman."

"Then you should understand that it's not just a symbol." Robin walked over and stood behind Batgirl, arms still crossed. "It's a target on your back that comes with a price, one my father has paid more times than I can count."

Batgirl fully turned to him. "Look, if this is your attempt to recruit me back on the team, it's not gonna happen."

"There's strength in working with a team, Batgirl," Robin stated. "Even I can understand that."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't need the protection of a team, Robin. I've done fine on my own."

"I overheard your ex beau mention that you were hurt," the young boy said. "Who do you think pays the price if something bad happens to you?"

"I do," she said, her tone laced with anger. " _I_ pay that price because _I'm_ the one who's hurt. Not you. Not Batman. Not my father. _Me_."

"You're allowing your anger cloud your judgement," he tsked. "I hope that one day you'll realize a Bat was never meant to be alone. Even he had Alfred."

Batgirl watched as Robin ran across the rooftop and jumped off the building. That kid really annoyed the shit out of her.

~~~~~~~~~~

Selina was laid across the end of Ivy's bed watching TV. She heard the front door open and close. A minute later, Ivy walked into her bedroom.

"What's the matter with you, Ives?" Selina asked, eyes still trained on the TV.

"Nothing," Ivy sighed. She kicked off her heels and climbed on her bed.

Selina muted the TV and climbed over to the spot next to Ivy. "Something's up."

Ivy covered herself with her blanket and turned away from Selina. "I said nothing."

"Not greeting your babies when you first walk in. No attempt at witty banter. Barely even saying a word at all." Selina leaned over and put a hand on Ivy's forehead. "Do you have jungle fever again?"

"Jungle fever?"

"When the weather kept changing your emotions."

Ivy slapped her hand away. "No."

"Ahh. I know what this is, my precious little rose." Selina pulled the blanket off of her. "You feel bad about something."

Ivy turned, eying her curiously. "I don't."

"So, who's feelings did you hurt this time? Alisa's? Harley's?"

"No and no."

Selina gasped. "Don't tell me you hurt Barbara's feelings." When Ivy sat up without saying anything, she knew the answer. "You asshole. What did you do?"

"I told her we're not friends and she got upset. It's not like I lied."

"Did you let her down gently or did you snap on her?"

Annoyed, Ivy stood up and walked out of the room.

"You snapped," Selina said matter-of-factly as she followed Ivy into the kitchen.

Ivy opened the fridge, searching for nothing in particular. "At the end of the day, she's Batgirl and I'm Poison Ivy. We're enemies."

"You're also Pamela Isley and Barbara Gordon. Maybe she just really wants to be friends." Selina closed the fridge to get Ivy's attention. "Dinah and Helena are in Star City. Dick is with the Titans. Bruce is, well, Bruce. Nobody really likes Damian, we just tolerate him."

Ivy snorted.

"The point is, she doesn't have any friends here in Gotham and despite you being a raging bitch, you're also kinda likeable and a good friend... sometimes." Selina put her hands on Ivy's shoulders. "The poor girl just wants a friend. She kinda needs one."

"She doesn't need it to be me. She has you."

"Eh," Selina shrugged as she opened the fridge.

"She has her father," Ivy responded before putting more thought into it. "Not a good example." She sat down at the kitchen island. "She's a Bat, Selina. You can't trust them."

"I did."

"Oh please, you and Bruce have had your fair share of issues. You're on your, what, tenth breakup right now?"

"Buuuuuut," Selina drawled out, pulling an apple from the fridge, "No matter what we go through, I still trust him. Plus, Barbara's a good kid and for some reason she actually _wants_ to be your friend. No offense but nobody really wants to be your friend... except Harley."

Ivy was offended. "You and I are friends."

"True but I didn't _want_ to be your friend. It just... happened that way."

Ivy rolled her eyes.

Selina used her hand to lean against Ivy's chair as she bit into her apple. "I think the issue is that you kinda like her too," she said still chewing, "But because you're Ivy and you're not that great at human emotions and interactions, a prospective friendship with Babs scares the pheromones out of you." She swallowed. "Look at it this way, you have the opportunity to have a Bat eating out of the palm of your hand."

Ivy tilted her head. Selina was right. All of Barbara's friends were gone and she was just as lonely. Plus, having a Bat at her beck and call didn't seem so bad idea either.

"Fine," she said. "On another note, you have an entire section of the fridge for yourself yet you keep taking _my_ things."

Selina sighed, a satisfied grin on her face. "Some things taste better when they aren't yours."

~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a month and a half since the last time she'd seen Barbara. Ivy had heard about Batgirl stopping robberies and saving citizens from explosions but no sign of the girl. Not even the occasional visit on the balcony of her office, which Ivy did miss, although she'll never admit it out loud. She also noticed Barbara's car was no longer outside of her house. 

She went past the library a few times but the woman at the front desk told her Barbara had either just left or she wasn't in at all, which was a lie most of the time considering Barbara's car was parked outside but she didn't push it.

She was, however, growing tired of chasing Barbara so she needed to take drastic measures to ensure she brought Barbara to her.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy stood on top of an abandoned building in Gotham, which was Barbara's usual spot. "If you keep moving, you'll slip through the vine and fall to your death," she said to a scruffy man she had wrapped up in a vine and hanging off the side of the building. "My intention is not to kill you but I'd gladly let you drop if you insist on being an insubordinate."

"You crazy bitch!" The man yelled.

Ivy sighed. "You're not making this easy at all."

"Let him go, Ivy," Batgirl said appearing from the shadows behind the redhead.

"Good. You're here." Ivy turned around. "Are you _sure_ you want me to let him go? He'll fall and go kersplat."

Batgirl exhaled deeply. "I am in no mood."

Ivy internally rolled her eyes. The vines brought the man up and dropped him on the ground.

"Thank you so much, Batgirl," the man said before scurrying off.

"Wait," Ivy called out as Batgirl turned to leave. "I wanted to talk to you but you've been avoiding me. I understand why but I don't particularly like it."

Batgirl turned, crossing her arms. "So you kidnap a man and hang him off the side of a building?"

"You know what they say about desperate times." Ivy started toward her. "Can we go somewhere and talk?"

"We're talking now."

"I mean somewhere you're not dressed like... _that_."

"Why? So you can get upset at me again for being nice?"

"I don't trust people like you."

Batgirl gasped. "You have trust issues? I'm shocked."

"Don't patronize me." Ivy crossed her arms. "Anytime Batman was nice to me, he always wanted something. Whether it was a cure or to use my abilities to help him with some oddball plan, he always wanted something and he wasn't above manipulating me to get it."

"You think I want any of that from you?"

Ivy raised a questioning brow. "Do you?"

Batgirl's shoulders slump. "Of course, I don't. I get it. We've been enemies for a long time but I'm not Batman and it irritates me to know you view me that way." She sighed. "I don't want anything from you, Ivy. I never have."

"You wanted me to stop killing," Ivy said, looking down at the ground. She knew it wasn't the best point but it was a point to be made, nonetheless.

"Uhhh, yeah, so that you could work on your bee project instead of plotting an escape from Arkham."

Ivy crossed her arms tighter. "You wanted to be my friend."

Batgirl shrugged. "Well, that ship has sailed."

"So I'm right? You did want something?"

Batgirl bit her lip, searching her mind for the right words. "For a long time, I've only seen Poison Ivy, the eco-terrorist who murdered men for their wrongdoings against the Green, as you call it. I think a small part of me wanted to get to know the real you." She found herself moving closer to Ivy. 

"The you that allowed yourself to be vulnerable with me the night I came to lock you up. The you that offered me a place to sleep when my car got a flat. The you that you hate showing the world because you think it makes you weak but it doesn't." She reached out and touched Ivy's hands.

Ivy furrowed her brows in confusion as she felt Batgirl's hand wrap around hers.

"The you that is keeping your toxicity at its lowest levels because you don't want to hurt me."

Ivy slowly pulled her hands from Batgirl's. "In my defense, if I did hurt you, Commissioner Gordon would have my head."

Batgirl chuckled. "Look, I'm not asking you to trust me because if I'm being honest, I don't fully trust you."

"Touché."

"But, I do think we can at least _try_ to be friends. In case you didn't know, I don't really have many in this city."

"So I've been told."

"Selina," Batgirl said, shaking her head. "So chatty, that one."

Ivy stared at Batgirl for a long moment before remembering what she originally came to say. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry for snapping at you the way I did. I wasn't trying to make you upset, I... honestly didn't understand why you were being so nice to me after everything we've been through as enemies."

"Well, you know now. So where does that leave us? Friends? Frenemies?" A smirk was pulling on Batgirl's lips. "Friends with benefits?"

Ivy didn't know if the vigilante was serious in her flirtation or not but she loved every minute of it. She moved closer to Batgirl, her lips barely an inch from her ear. "Like you'd have any idea how to handle a woman like me," she said, her voice low and husky.

Ivy's breath sent a chill down Batgirl's spine but she refused to let the bombshell win this game. She leaned into Ivy's ear. "Oh," she whispered, "I'd do more than just handle you, Ivy." She moved her head so that she was inches away from Ivy's face.

The playful smirk on Ivy's expression faded. "Can you promise me something?" She asked the vigilante.

"As long you're not making me promise to look after your plants while you're at work."

"It's been established you're not good at it," Ivy smiled. "Promise me that you won't try to fix me." Batgirl raised a curious eyebrow. "Harley was my therapist and she helped me understand a lot of things about myself but outside of that, she never treated me like a patient, like someone who needed to be fixed. Neither did Selina. They treated me as their equal. As their friend."

"I can promise you that on one condition."

"What condition?"

"That you won't try to fix me either." Batgirl teetered back and forth. "Some people are just... broken... I'm broken." Ivy tilted her head, her curiosity apparent. "I remember one time I had gotten sick and my mom made soup for me everyday." Batgirl smiled as a single tear streamed down her cheek. "She even yelled at my dad everytime the tea he made me was too hot."

Before Ivy knew it, her hand was wiping away the younger woman's tear.

"She told me she'd never leave my side." The vigilante shook her head. "A month later, she was gone. She just... left us and to this day, I don't know why," she said as more tears fell. "Her absence in my life left a huge void I never thought I'd be able to fill."

"Until you became Batgirl," Ivy responded, her voice barely a whisper.

Batgirl nodded. "Some people just need a purpose. Yours is The Green. Mine is," she pointed at the symbol on her chest, "This." She wiped her tears away. "But no matter how hard I try, there's still a part of that void that remains unfilled." She looked up at Ivy. "I would never try to fix you, Ivy. Besides, I'm not a handyman so I don't think I'd be much good at it." They both chuckled.

"So... ummm... do we- do we hug?" Batgirl asked.

"Hmmm," Ivy said. "That's what most friends do."

"Right." It was Batgirl who moved in first. She wrapped her arms around Ivy's waist and held the redhead tight.

Despite knowing the contact was coming, Ivy tensed. It felt odd hugging the young vigilante since she had never been this intimate with anyone besides her mother, Harley and Selina but this was the beginning of something new and she had to get used to it one way or another.

Ivy wrapped her arms around Batgirl's neck. She squeezed her lightly before breaking the hug. She looked down at her watch. "I have to go. I'm pulling an all-nighter at the lab."

"And I have plans to thwart," Batgirl replied. "I can maybe stop by tomorrow and bring you some breakfast."

Ivy smiled. "I'd like that."


	4. Where's Ivy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy visits Harley in Coney Island. Batgirl is on the case when a former enemy of Ivy's turns up dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Sexual content during the second Harley and Ivy scene.
> 
> Feel free to skip!!!

Barbara walked through the front doors carrying a brown paper bag in one hand and her phone in the other. She saw the receptionist at the desk and started toward her. "Hey, Trish!"

"Babsy," Trish said, getting up from her chair and trotting over to Barbara. "How are you?"

"Great. You?" Barbara said as she hugged the brown skinned woman back.

"Better now that you're here."

"Stop it," Barbara said playfully waving her off. She placed the bag on the desk.

"I'm serious," Trish laughed, leaning against the desk. "It's so nice to have someone to talk to. The most I get from people that work here is a wave and if I'm lucky, a smile. They always send their assistants, some of who are assholes mind you, when they need something."

"What about Director Irving?"

"Oh, God. She's very intimidating." Barbara chuckled. "She is!" Trish insisted. "She's the only one who-"

Ivy walked down the hallway toward them. "Trish, right?" Trish nodded. "Any messages for me?"

"Does that," Trish whispered. She turned around to face Ivy with a bright smile. "Not today, Director," she said as Ivy finally reached the desk.

Barbara tried to hold in her laugh but her smile saved her. "Hi, sweetie!"

"Good morning, love." Ivy placed a finger under Barbara's chin and leaned down, kissing the shorter woman softly on the lips.

Trish blushed as she sat back in her seat.

Barbara was stunned and also terrified. A kiss from Poison Ivy was certain death but surely she wouldn't try to kill her now, right?

"You're fine," Ivy whispered as she hugged her. She turned to Trish. "What were you two chatting about?"

"The weather," Trish lied. "It's freezing."

Barbara shook her head.

"Oh, Ivy responded to the obvious lie. "I suppose 92 degrees is cold to someone." Ivy turned on her heel and proceeded down the hall.

Barbara grabbed the bag and followed her into the office. She couldn't help but smile as she saw a chair positioned in front of Ivy's desk. "I didn't know what else to get so I-"

"Brought me a salad?"

"Not exactly," Barbara said as she sat the bag down on Ivy's desk. She opened it and pulled out a platter, sitting it in front of Ivy. "Vegetable Lo Mein with chickpea noodles instead of egg noodles."

Ivy opened the platter. "This smells amazing," she said, wafting the scent toward her. "Thank you."

"You are _very_ welcome." Barbara pulled out her platter and sat down. She put the bag on the floor.

"What did you get?" Ivy asked, pointing a fork to Barbara's platter.

"Pancakes, bacon and eggs," she said, opening the platter. "About that kiss," she said, clasping her hands in front of her. "Why didn't it kill me?"

"I willed the toxins in my body to not poison you," Ivy simply stated. She ate a forkful of Lo Mein.

Barbara glared at her. "That didn't answer the question."

"It kind of did." Ivy chuckled when Barbara's expression went unchanged. "I can also control the toxicity of my kiss. It doesn't always have to kill bend wills but I guess there's a lot you don't know about my body," she said, her voice almost a whisper.

"I'm a hands on kinda gal when it comes to learning so perhaps you'd let me explore it some time." Barbara smiled slyly before eating a piece of pancake. "I don't mean to pry but if that's the case, why'd you make Harley immune to you?"

"We were having sex," Ivy stated bluntly. "I didn't want to risk losing control and hurting her."

Barbara nodded in agreement. "That makes sense."

"On the other hand, I didn't make Selina immune our first time because I didn't care if she died." Ivy said as if it was common knowledge that she slept with the brunette.

Barbara shook her head as if it made her hearing better. "Wait. What?"

"I'm joking," Ivy laughed. "About not caring if she died."

"No- I- You and Selina-" Barbara crossed her fingers.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "It was only once. We were having a moment and it just... happened."

After that, they fell into a comfortable silence and continued eating. When they were finished, they put their empty containers in the bag.

"Now I'm kind of curious," Barbara spoke up. "Did you really intend on seducing me that night at Joey's?"

"Yes," Ivy replied. "I hadn't had sex for weeks and fucking the Commissioner's daughter seemed like a very fun idea."

"Your honesty is... wow." Barbara sipped her iced tea before speaking again. "How's the bee project coming along?"

"We're just putting the finishing touches on the new formula."

A soft knock was on the door.

"Come in," Ivy yelled.

Alisa walked into the office. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back later."

"No, it's fine. We were just finishing up," Barbara said as she stood. She held out a hand to the woman. "Barbara Gordon."

"Alisa Adams," she said shaking Barbara's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Alisa turned her attention to Ivy. "Dr. Raymond wants to speak with you. He said it's urgent."

Ivy nodded and Alisa left the room.

"I need to get going anyway," Barbara said, picking up the paper bag. "Duty calls."

"Murder mystery?" Ivy asked.

"Hmmm." Barbara pulled put her phone. "Robbery. It's almost always robbery."

"Have fun," Ivy smirked as she walked out of her office.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Dr. Raymond," Ivy said as she entered the office. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes, come in. Please."

Ivy closed the door and sat in the empty seat. She felt uneasy for some reason. The man barely talked to her. In fact, this was the first time she had been in his office since the interview. Was he going to fire her? He'd be an idiot to do so.

"Dr. Raymond, I know we haven't exactly been the best of co-workers over the past few months but if you're going to fire me, can it wait until after Alisa and I test the new formula?"

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. Who said anything about firing you?"

"You're not?"

"What?" He laughed. "No. I'd be bat shit crazy to do that." He moved his chair closer to his desk. "I just wanted to let you know that you're doing some amazing work here. The progress this company's had with you as Director in such a short amount of time is remarkable."

"Oh," Ivy said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"I do hope that you stick around, even after the formula is tested."

"If I'm being honest, I didn't plan to but I believe there's much more work to be done so maybe I will be sticking around for a bit."

"That's the spirit," Dr. Raymond responded with excitement. "I do have one request."

"Of course you do," Ivy said standing up.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"To the lab. We're done here," she said, proceeding toward the door.

"Director, please."

Ivy stopped in her tracks. "What is it that you want from me?"

Dr. Raymond stood and walked around his desk. "For you to stop working under the name "Paula Irving.""

"I've done some terrible, shitty things and the world will always see me as Poison Ivy and I'm okay with that but I prefer to keep my identity under wraps."

"You've accomplished some amazing things here and the world deserves to know _Pamela Isley_ did those things. The world loves a good come back story."

"I'll think about it." Ivy opened the door and turned back to him. "I'm... sorry... for threatening your family. I had no intention of actually... hurting them."

"What would you have done instead?"

"Used my pheromones, most likely."

"Sounds fun," Dr. Raymond chuckled.

"Oh, before I go, I wanted to let you know about a trip we plan on taking to Metropolis to test the formula."

"Why not here in Gotham?"

"This isn't the best environment for such delicate plant life. Metropolis is much kinder."

"Agreed," Dr. Raymond said. "I'll get that fast tracked by the board. You should be there in no longer than two weeks."

"Thank you, Dr." With that, Ivy left the office.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Over here!" Barbara yelled from across the crowded coffee shop when she saw Trish walk in.

"Babsy!" Trish ran over to Barbara and hugged her without allowing the redhead to stand up.

It made Barbara laugh a bit. She wasn't used to people being this excited to see her. "Hi babe!"

"How the hell did you get a seat in this place?" Trish shrugged her jacket off and placed it on the back of her chair.

"I went to high school with the barista." She slid a drink toward the brunette. "Chai Latte with whipped cream on the bottom."

Trish sipped her drink and breathed a content sigh. "Ugh, you're my saviour." She took another sip. "So, where's the Mrs.?"

"Huh?" Barbara answered, a confused look on her face as she picked off pieces of her croissant and ate it.

"Your tall, beautiful fiancee with legs for days," Trish responded.

"Ohhhh." Barbara chuckled. "About that.."

Trish squinted. "About what?"

"She's not- we're not."

"Choose your next words very wisely Babsy," she said as she pointed her straw at Barbara.

Barbara smiled sheepishly, covering her face with her hands. "We're not engaged."

"Aww man. You guys broke up?" She placed a tender hand on Barbara's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay."

"No, I mean we were never actually... engaged."

Trish removed her hand. "You lied?"

"I wasn't intending to," Barbara answered truthfully. "You weren't letting me pass."

Trish stared daggers at her. "I literally said "she's not in her office, she's in the lab but you can wait for her in the lobby because her doors probably locked" and then you went on that whole rant about being her fiancee."

"Huh." Barbara leaned in. "You know, sometimes you talk _really_ fast. I only heard "not in her office" and "wait for her in the lobby.""

"I do not talk fast," Trish laughed as she playfully slapped her arm. "So when she kissed you yesterday, that was to keep up the lie?"

"Pretty much."

"I'm jealous," Trish whined. "She seems like a really good kisser." She perked up. "Wait, is she?"

"She's alright."

Trish nodded. "Okay now I see it."

"See what?"

"You're not a very good liar," Trish stated. She pulled Barbara's croissant toward her and tore off a piece to eat.

"I will have you know I am a _great_ liar." Barbara cleared her throat. "Not that it's something to brag about."

"So you two are just friends?"

"Yeah."

A smirk was pulling at Trish's lips. "So if I asked her out on a date, that would be okay with you?"

Barbara suddenly noticed a crack in the table and stared at it for a long second. "Why wouldn't I be?" She finally looked at Trish, realizing what the brown skinned woman was trying to say. "I'm not the jealous type. Besides, we're just friends and even if you did ask her out, she'll say no."

"How do you know?"

"Let's just say she's not much of a people person."

"I'm adorable though," Trish pouted.

"Didn't you say you were "strictly dickly?""

"I totally am but, like, have you _seen_ her?" Trish leaned in, whispering, "I called her daddy this morning when she came to pick up her check and that's not even my kind of kink."

Barbara's eyes widened. "No."

"Yes," Trish said leaning back in her seat.

Barbara leaned in, growing more intrigued by the second. "What did she say? What was her reaction?"

"All she said was "Thanks, sweetie," and left. Her cheeks were a little red but I couldn't tell if she was embarrassed or blushing."

"I- wow. I don't even- wow."

"Lucky for me, I don't have to see her for the rest of the day."

"Look honey, that Benedict Dillon is missing," Barbara heard a man say behind her. She listened.

"That guy was a complete and total asshole," his wife chimed in.

Barbara turned her head and looked up at the TV hanging up in the corner of the restaurant. The TV itself was muted but the headline read "BREAKING NEWS: WIFE OF BILLIONAIRE BENEDICT DILLON REPORTS HIM MISSING"

Barbara quickly stood, grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair. "I'm so sorry. I have to go."

"Everything okay?" Trish asked, concern in her voice.

"Yeah." Barbara pushed her chair in and left the coffee shop.

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara knocked on the door more times than she needed to.

"Goddammit I'm coming!" Selina swung the door open. "What the hell- oh it's you." She leaned against the door frame. "What do you want?"

Barbara brushed past Selina.

"Cool it on the dramatics," the cat hissed.

"Where's Ivy?"

"Places."

Barbara stepped in front of Selina. "Tell me where she is, Selina."

Selina chuckled. "How cute." She booped Barbara's nose.

Barbara grabbed her arm. "Where. Is. Ivy?"

"So _stern_ ," the brunette said as she pulled her arm away. "I thought you donned the suit when you talked business? You're much more menacing that way."

"A man is missing."

"And you think Ivy did it?"

Barbara shrugged. "I don't know but I need to talk to her."

"Ummm, have you tried calling her? That might work," Selina said with a hint of sarcasm. "She left for Coney Island this morning."

Barbara's phone rang in her pocket. She answered. "I'm on my way." She let out a deep sigh before leaving the house.

~~~~~~~~~~

Harley was lying face down on top of a blanket that protected her from the heat of the sand. She felt the coolness on her skin as as the warmness of the sun faded away.

She grunted, her eyes staying closed behind her dark sunglasses. "Tony, I know yer small but yer blockin' the sun now move it."

"I've been gone a few months and you've already forgotten my name," the voice above her spoke.

Harley slid her glasses to the top of her head and craned her neck back. "Red?" She saw Ivy standing above her wearing a green bikini with rose petals imprinted on it. "Red!

"I told you I'd come visit once I was settled in," Ivy said. She held out a hand and pulled Harley up. "I stopped by your apartment to drop my things off and Queenie told me you were here."

Harley jumped into her arms, wrapping her pale legs against the redhead's waist. She peppered kisses all over her face. "I missed ya, Red!" She said before continuing.

"Harley," Ivy chuckled. "I missed you too but people are starting to stare."

"Let 'em." After another onslaught of kisses, Harley slid her legs off of Ivy. "Tell me about work."

Ivy sat down on the blanket. "It's been going really well."

"That's it? Just "goin' well?"" Harley sat in between Ivy's legs with her back facing her front. She wrapped Ivy's hands around her waist.

"My co-worker and I are almost finished the formula and we plan on going to Metropolis to test it out in a few weeks."

Harley turned her head so she could see part of Ivy's face. "Look at you makin' new friends. I'm so proud a' you my little buttacup." She kissed her on the cheek.

Ivy rolled her eyes as Harley turned back. "She's very intelligent and capable of keeping up with me. I wouldn't say she was a friend."

"So you two finished the formula thingy and yer goin' to Metropolis? I don't think Supes is gonna like that very much."

Ivy scoffed. "As if I care what he likes."

Harley giggled. "I talked to Kitty earlier. She said you weren't happy about her buying groceries anymore."

"That's cause she picks all the fruits and vegetables from my garden and tries to pass them off as store bought. I let it slide the first few times but now it's annoying."

"Aww. She means well," Harley pouted.

Ivy tilted her head and Harley turned to her. "Does she?"

Harley gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Yes now stop bein' mean to Kitty."

Ivy waited til Harley turned around to mouth the word "No."

"I heard that," Harley said.

"Anyway, how's life in Coney since I left?"

"Mason's back in witness protection, the Gang a' Harley's are better than ever and Red Tool is, well ya know."

"Still in love with you?"

"Yup," Harley sighed.

They sat together in a comfortable silence, watching as the sun went down and people began leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~

A stray cat bolted across the grass of Robinson Park when it heard the crunch of a branch under Batgirl's foot. She winced before quickly stepping off the branch. "Sorry," she said, knowing there's a chance Ivy heard the poor thing's screams.

She carefully made her way through the park. She noticed a dark figure standing in front of a bench.

Batman stepped to the side revealing the dead body of Benedict Dillon. "She killed him."

Batgirl stepped closer and examined the body. The dead man was emerald green with sprouts piercing through the skin of his face.

"This is your case, Batgirl. "

"You're not going to walk me through how to solve it?"

"Your issue has never been capability or incompetence, it's your habit of charging into situations head first without a clear picture."

"Well, considering I have a photographic memory," Barbara started before realizing Batman was gone and she was talking to herself. She pulled out her phone and called her father.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy sat against the headboard of the Harley's bed now wearing royal blue-laced panties and a matching bra as the blonde walked out of the bathroom with one towel around her body and another on her head. 

"I... did make _one_ new friend."

"Who?" Harley asked while moving closer to the bed.

"Barbara Gordon."

Harley raised a questioning eyebrow. "The comish's daughter, Barbara Gordon?"

"That's the one."

"Oh."

"What's the matter?" Ivy asked, noticing the change in Harley's mood. "I thought you liked me making new friends."

Harley crossed her arms like a petulant child. "Not cute ones."

Ivy let out a hearty laugh. "She's not _that_ kind of friend."

Harley climbed on the bed and straddled Ivy's thighs. "Not yet, anyways."

Ivy furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You do realize you've had sex with alla yer friends, right?"

"I-"

"Me... Kitty..."

"That's all the friends I have."

"The friend you had in college you ended up losin' yer v-card to..."

"But-"

"The friend from work you told me about alla those years ago."

Ivy stared at Harley for a long moment. "What's your point?" 

"As much as I believe havin' friends is good fer you, yer not good at keepin' yer relationships platonic. Lucky for me, I'm the only one you love."

It was Ivy's turn to cross her arms like a petulant child. "I could have platonic relationships if I wanted to. I know how to keep it in my pants."

"So, let's make a deal."

"No."

"Aww come on. It could be fun."

"Fine," Ivy said, giving in way easier than she intended to but she was curious. "What's the deal?"

"If you stay strictly friends with Barbara Gordon, you win. If you end up screwin' her... ya still kinda win cause she's hot but you'll have to owe me something."

"Something like what?"

"I'll letcha know when I figure it out, pretty girl." Harley leaned in and kissed Ivy softly on the lips.

There was a content smile on Ivy's face when Harley pulled back. "I hate you."

"Yer gonna be sayin' the opposite in about ten minutes," Harley responded with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Ivy slipped her hand under Harley's towel, eliciting a soft gasp from the blonde as her thumb made contact with Harley's clit. She began rubbing small circles. "Come again?"

Harley closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Ivy's. "Fuck, Red," she breathed out, wrapping her arms around the older woman's neck as she bucked her hips into her hand.

"Mmmm you're always so wet for me."

Harley's eyes fluttered open and she stared into Ivy's green orbs. "I did just get outta the shower," she half smiled as she bit her lip to keep herself from moaning.

"Funny," Ivy said, determined to wipe the smile off Harley's face. She pushed her backwards on the bed causing the towel to open and expose Harley's naked body.

Like a lioness stalking her prey, Ivy crawled over on her hands and knees and moved herself in between Harley's legs and pinning her hands above head.

Harley wrapped her legs around Ivy's waist. "I want you to fuck me, Red."

"I know," Ivy said, her voice low and husky as she kept her pinned to the bed. She lowered herself into Harley and grinded slowly into her.

"No teasin'," Harley whimpered. 

Ivy bent down captured her lips in a tender and deep kiss while continuing to grind into Harley, moving her hips in different rotations without breaking contact and it made the blonde beauty moan loudly.

She broke the kiss and moved her hands to either side of Harley's head. She felt herself coming undone as she pressed harder. "Harley," she moaned.

Harley snaked her arms around Ivy's back and held the redhead tight. "Red, I'm gonna-" Harley's body shuddered beneath her.

The vibrations of Harley's body sent Ivy into a whirlwind and it wasn't long before she felt a wave of pure ecstasy overtake her.

Harley moved her hands up and down Ivy's back as they both came down form their high. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ivy replied.

"Ha, less than ten minutes."

Ivy rolled her eyes as she snaked herself down Harley's naked body. "You're so lucky I haven't tasted you in so long."

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara knocked on Ivy's door. Selina opened it and rolled her eyes. "You again."

"I need you to tell Ivy to come back to Gotham."

"For what?"

"Benedict Dillon was found dead a few hours ago in Robinson Park."

"Good riddance but also, and?"

"It's an ongoing investigation, Selina."

"You don't think she did it, do you?"

"It just seems too... easy."

"Do you not have her number?"

"No," Barbara said matter-of-factly. "I don't."

Selina walked into the kitchen and walked back out typing away on her phone. "There."

Barbara's phone buzzed. It was a new text from Selina that contained Ivy's cell number. "How do you have my- nevermind."

"Toodles," Selina said as she pushed Barbara out of the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy propped herself up on her elbow. She was brushing messy strands of hair away from the sleeping girl's face when her phone rang. She answered it.

"Yes, Selina?"

"Whatever you do, don't come back to Gotham."

Ivy sat up in bed. "Why not?"

"Benedict Dillon is dead and everyone, except your new Bat bestie, thinks you did it and she came over here looking for you so I gave her your number but it's only a matter of time before she realizes I gave her the wrong one."

"I have nothing to hide." Ivy sighed as she looked down at Harley, a pained expression on her face. She didn't want to leave yet but she knew she had to. "I'll be home tomorrow morning." She ended the call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is still 100% a Babsivy fic!!


	5. CatGirl Team Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batgirl investigates the death of Benedict Dillon and when Ivy goes missing, she works with Catwoman to save her.

"Do ya have to go, Ive?" Harley asked from her spot in the middle of the bed.

Ivy dragged her suitcase over to the bed. "Yes, Harls," she said plopping it down in front of Harley.

"Why not just leave yer stuff here and come back?"

"Between being a suspect in a murder case and finishing the formula, I have too much to do."

Harley stood up on the bed. "I don't want you to go." She dragged the suitcase away from Ivy. "Ahh," she screamed, falling backwards and crashing on the bed.

Ivy tried her best to suppress her giggle but burst into a fit of laughter when Harley's momentum carried half her body over the edge of it.

"Hey! It's not funny." Harley sat up on the bed pushing her messy hair out of her face. She slumped her shoulders and pouted. So Ivy gave in.

"Why don't you come with me to Metropolis?" Ivy asked, pulling the suitcase back to her.

"And be hounded by Supes? No thanks. Plus ya have work," Harley said. "I'll just be a distraction, Red."

"I won't be working every single second. I'll have some time to myself." She closed her suitcase. "We can go shopping, eat some good food. The usual itinerary when we're together in another city."

"When are you leaving?"

"In a few weeks."

"How long ya stayin' for?

"I don't know yet. Could be anywhere from three months to a year," Ivy said. "You obviously don't have to stay that long."

"How about I visit after you've settled in?"

"Okay," Ivy smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy crossed her arms, leaning back in the chair she sat in inside of an interrogation room at the GCPD. She leaned forward, a smirk on her face as Jim Gordon walked into the room with file in his hands, likely filled with pictures of the dead man. She knew this routine all too well.

"I'm sure you know why you're here, Ms. Isley?"

" _Dr._ Isley," she corrected. "And yes, I do. Although, I'm a bit surprised I wasn't immediately met with a straight jacket and a needle in my neck. I've grown fond of that treatment, Commisioner."

"Funny you say that," Jim said as he took the seat across from her. He opened the file and spread all the pictures of Dillon's dead body over the table.

"He got what he deserved," Ivy said, her head tilted as she stared at the pictures with a hint of a smile. "But I didn't do that."

"M.E. found injection sights in his neck and traces of your blood were in his system."

Ivy furrowed her brows, looking up at Jim. "What?"

Jim pointed to Ivy. "Your blood," he said, pointing at one of the pictures. "His system."

"That's not possible. The only person who has access to my blood is..." Ivy pulled a picture toward her, coming to a realization before she relaxed in her seat. "If i wanted him dead I would've made a show of it. Subtlety isn't much my style."

Jim chuckled. "You think this is subtle?"

"If you're not going to arrest me, I'd like to go now."

"Not likely." Jim motioned his head toward Ivy. An officer came into the room.

"She didn't kill him," Batgirl stated as she walked in behind the officer.

The officer ping ponged between Batgirl and Jim. Jim waved him off and the man left the room.

"I have a lead," Batgirl said. She raised a brow at her father. "You should let her go."

Jim turned to Ivy. "Stay in town."

Ivy stood up from her seat, a satisfied smirk on her face as she walked past the Bat. "Thank you."

Batgirl and Jim walked into the hallway and watched as Ivy made her way down the hall.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

"I don't think she did it," Batgirl said, her eyes still on Ivy. "But she might know who did and if I'm right, she'll lead us to them." She turned to her father. "Just trust me, okay?"

Jim pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath. "Go," he said.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy softly knocked on Dr. Raymond's door. A girl about 16 years old opened it.

The girl knitted her brows. "Who are you?"

"Director Irving," Ivy said, looking past the girl into the office where there was no sign of the man she was looking for. "You must be his daughter."

"Yeah. I'm Holly." The girl tilted her head. "You look familiar."

"You might've seen me on a wanted poster or two."

Holly gasped. "Poison Ivy," she whispered. "Wait, I thought you were supposed to be green?"

Ivy chuckled. "Well, I was a human before I became Poison Ivy."

"Huh." Holly looked Ivy up and down and biting her lip. "Was your body a side effect or are your curves natural?"

Ivy shifted uncomfortably at the young girls flirtation. "Where's your father?"

"Right here, Director," Dr. Raymond said walking up behind Ivy.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Ivy asked, turning to him.

"Holly-"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," the girl said as she walked past them on her way out the office.

"Did you think about what I said? About your name."

"The board isn't going to be upset that you've employed a "criminally insane eco-terrorist," as some have called me?"

"Oh, they already know and they're kind of afraid of you," he laughed a bit too long. He cleared his throat when he saw Ivy's brow raised. "They're also happy that you'll be making them a shit ton of money if the formula works but I do have some bad news."

"Go on..."

"They won't approve the trip to Metropolis until your name is cleared in the Dillon investigation."

Ivy sighed. "I'm working on that."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy walked into an empty apartment previously owned by Jason Woodrue. She searched it thoroughly from top to bottom before she stood in the middle of the room, her hands on her hips.

"Hey," a man said behind her. She directed her attention to a dead, potted plant and motioned it toward the man. Vines wrapped around his neck and body.

"Who the hell are you?" Ivy asked.

"I... live next... door," the man said.

The vine around his neck slithered away. "How long have you lived here?"

"Since I was a kid."

"Then you should know Jason Woodrue."

"That creep," the man said. "Haven't seen him around here in years. I hear he's the Floronic Man," he chuckled. "More like Moronic Man."

The vines slithered their way back into their pot. "You can go," Ivy said. The man left the apartment.

"Found what you were looking for?" a familiar voiced asked.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Ivy said when turned and saw Batgirl standing behind her. "I'm not really in the mood for a Bat. I'd rather talk to Barbara."

"I _am_ Barb- nevermind."

"Are you here to interrogate me?"

"Not exactly," Batgirl said. "You okay?"

"Well, I had to leave Harley earlier than I wanted to. I still have to finish the formula and on top of that, I'm under investigation for a murder I didn't commit so no, I'm not "okay."" Ivy walked toward the door. "Dillon's death is a major inconvenience for me."

"You are literally the worst person I know."

Ivy turned, her arms crossed. "Considering you know Joker _and_ Batman, I am very offended."

"Good," Batgirl said. "Now, do you know anyone who might want to set you up?"

"I thought maybe Woodrue and that's why I stopped by here, which you know because you were following me, but-" Ivy stopped when Batgirl moved her hand to her face. She shuddered a bit at the feather light touch. "What are you doing?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper as her heart thudded in her chest.

"An eyelash," Batgirl said holding it in front of Ivy's face as if it was obvious. "Make a wish."

Ivy eyed her curiously. Batgirl rolled her eyes before closing them. Ivy couldn't help but marvel at the younger woman's beauty that was partially hidden by the mask. She felt herself leaning down but before her lips could make contact with the redhead's lips, Batgirl turned and walked to the open window where she blew the eyelash away.

"You never heard of making a wish with an eyelash?" Batgirl asked.

"Clearly not," Ivy said, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her dress. "What did you wish for?"

"I'm not telling you. Anyway," Batgirl began "I overheard Woodrue's neighbor say he hasn't been here for years so we can cross him off your very, very, very long list of enemies."

Ivy found herself being annoyed at how oblivious Batgirl was to what almost happened, even though she couldn't have known Ivy wanted kiss her so badly. "Today's been a very long day and I just want to go home. Can we pick this up tomorrow?"

Batgirl exhaled a deep breath. "We are on a very tight schedule but I guess I could give you a few hours."

Ivy picked up the once dead plant and left Batgirl in Woodrue's apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~

"It's been days, Barbara," Jim said as he paced back and force through her living room. "Days and you've given me no concrete evidence that proves Ivy is innocent."

Barbara stood up from where she sat on the couch. "I'm doing everything I can to find out who did this."

"And you've gotten 0 results. Meanwhile, more bodies keep turning up in Robinson Park." He stopped pacing. "Whatever is going on between you and Ivy, it needs to stop because she's clearly clouding your judgement."

"There's nothing going on between us, dad." She sighed. "I've been trailing her for the past few days and she hasn't gone anywhere near Robinson Park."

"Something's gotta give, Barbara."

"What do you want me to do?"

"If she's innocent then that can be proven while she's behind bars," he said. "Bring her in."

"I don't know where she is."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Ivy's missing," Catwoman said as she was perched up on the ledge of an abandoned building in her usual cat-like stance.

"I know," Batgirl sighed.

"Then why haven't you done anything? She's your friend, right?"

"It's complicated, Selina, you know that."

"I also know for a fact she didn't kill him."

"I know."

"For someone who knows a lot, you're not acting like it." Catwoman turned to her. "What is up with you?"

Batgirl sighed. "I don't know."

"Let me guess, you also didn't know Ivy would be such a burden when you signed on to deal with all her missteps." Catwoman stepped down and turned to Batgirl. "Ivy can be a lot to handle sometimes. She's moody as all hell and so easy to irritate. She can be a spiteful, raging bitch at times, even when you don't deserve it. She lets her phone ring as you call and bop her head along to the ringtone. She'll even tie you up and inject you with a special serum just to make you tell her who Batman is only to not actually attempt to murder him when she finally figures it out."

A fond smile was on Selina's face. "She's also a sore loser. We played Mario Kart one time and she broke the disk because she kept coming in last place. Going off of that, she's also a terrible driver."

"Is it even worth it?" Batgirl asked. "All the headaches. The trouble."

"Fuck yes, it's worth it. _She's_ worth it. You wanna know why?" Batgirl nodded. "Because you're worth it to her and you have to be a special kind of person to be worth it to Poison Ivy." The cat walked over to the Bat. "We have to find our girl."

There was a pause and then, "We know Ivy's DNA was found on her victims, right? Where does one even harvest Ivy toxins?" Batgirl asked.

"One of her old greenhouse lairs?"

"But who would have samples of her DNA on record and would keep it somewhere it couldn't deteriorate?"

"Her doctor," they both simultaneously said.

"There was a doctor Ivy told me about a while ago." Catwoman said "His name was Greg Gilroy. Ring a bell?"

"He was a doctor at Arkham Asylum when Ivy first arrived so he'd definitely have access to samples of her blood but why would he frame her for murder?"

"I don't think he's framing her."

"What do you mean?"

"Ivy told me he wrote her love letters and even gave her special treatment without her having to use pheromones on him."

"That's never happened before," Batgirl sarcastically stated.

"Well," Catwoman began, "He's a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to the criminal part."

"Wait, Dr. Gilroy is the one who signed Ivy's papers. It's cause of him she was declared legally sane." Batgirl pulled out her phone and typed at it before putting it away. "I have an address. You coming?"

"Catwoman and Batgirl teaming up to rescue our favorite plant." The cat climbed up on the ledge. "They'll make movies about us."

~~~~~~~~~~

Catwoman crashed into the kitchen window of Greg's house. She rolled across the floor and used her claws to stop her momentum as she slid in a crouching position.

Greg stood frozen next to the stove. The old man fixed his glasses on his face. "What the hell is going on?"

Batgirl opened the front door and walked through it on her way to the kitchen. She turned to the cat. "Seriously?"

"You know I love to make an entrance."

The doctors eyes ping-ponged between them. "Why are you two in my home?"

Catwoman sauntered over to him. She ran a claw along his jawline, leaving a trail of blood. "We ask the questions Dr. Gilroy. Sit," she said, pushing him into a nearby chair.

Batgirl walked over and stood next to Catwoman. "Why did you kill all those people in the park?"

"I have no idea what your talking about," he lied.

Catwoman pushed her foot into his crotch. "Don't lie to us you greasy little weasel."

"Okay, fine. Fine." Catwoman kept her foot in place. "Dillon deserved it. All he cared about was money and he was willing to do anything to get it, even if it meant killing bees."

"But you didn't stop there," Batgirl said. "You killed a jogger, the brother of a police officer and a single mother of two who was on her way to take her son his medicine. They were innocent."

"Nooo. No they weren't." Greg said. "Robinson Park is my favorite place and they were polluting it. I knew my love wouldn't be happy."

"They didn't deserve to die for it," Batgirl spat.

"Your love?" Catwoman asked, removing her foot. She got closer to his face. "Listen carefully to what I'm about to say to you. Poison Ivy is not in love with you. She never was and never will be."

"You're lying," Greg said as he attempted to stand up but Batgirl forcefully sat him back down.

"You're not going anywhere," she said. She pulled out a pair of cuffs and cuffed his hands behind his back.

"Now that that's out if the way, where is Ivy?" Catwoman asked.

"Ow," he said as Batgirl tightened the cuffs as hard as she could. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Catwoman pulled her hand back and swung it forward as hard as she could, clawing the man's face.

"Fuuck," Greg cried out as he covered his bloody eye. "You crazy bitch."

Catwoman stood him up. "I asked you a question."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Batgirl stood in between them. "You might wanna calm down before you end up in a jail cell too," she told the brunette. She turned to Greg. "Ivy's missing and if you love her as much as you say you do, you'll tell us where she is."

"I swear I don't know!"

Batgirl looked over at Catwoman. "If he doesn't have her, somebody else does."

"This just got a whole lot more complicated," Catwoman said.

~~~~~~~~~~

Batgirl and Catwoman stood on the rooftop of the GCPD with the doctor in tow. Jim and another officer walked toward them.

"Catwoman," Jim said.

"Commissioner."

Batgirl pushed Greg toward her father. "This is the man who killed those people in Robinson Park. His name is Greg Gilroy and he was Ivy's doctor at Arkham. He also had access to her blood."

Catwoman noticed out of the corner of her eye as an "Oh shit, I fucked up" look slowly creeped up on the officer's cheek. She choked Stuart up, her claws digging into his skin. "Where is she?"

"Cat!" Batgirl yelled.

"Let him go," Jim pleaded.

"Your Officer Stuart Rawlings, right? You thought Ivy was the one that killed your brother," Catwoman tightened her grip. "Didn't you?"

"I wanted to make her pay," Stuart choked out. "I'm sorry."

Catwoman let him go. "Tell us where she is," she said as Batgirl cuffed him.

"2614 Faulton Lane," Stuart said. "She's in the basement."

~~~~~~~~~~

Batgirl and Catwoman arrived at the house. They ran to the back and opened the doors that led to a basement.

"She's not breathing," Catwoman said, her voice shaky.

Batgirl jumped into the pit. "Help me pull her out." She scooped Ivy's naked, lifeless body off the cold, hard ground and carried her to the doors.

Catwoman pulled Ivy up the rest of the way and set her down. Batgirl studied Ivy's condition. The usually vibrant and curvy redhead was now a shriveled, boney plant. She felt for a pulse then turned to Catwoman and shook her head.

"No!"

Batgirl stared up at the darkness of the sky and willed herself not to cry.

She failed.

Tears began trickling down her mask. "This is all my fault," she said, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

"Barbara," Catwoman said softly. "It's not your fault."

"She was my responsibility, Cat."

"No, she wasn't," Catwoman said with a sniffle. She placed a hand on Batgirl's shoulder. "You're not her guardian angel. There's no way you could've known this would happen." She looked over at a pond a few feet away from them and then bent down to pick up Ivy.

Batgirl turned to her with a confused expression. "What are you-"

Catwoman carried Ivy over to the pond. "When your plants seem dead, what do you do?"

"Water them," Batgirl said as everything started to click. She watched as Catwoman threw Ivy into the pond. "Did you really have to throw her?"

"She won't remember," Catwoman said, wiping her eyes. They patiently waited as there was still no sign of life.

A minute later, Ivy sat up in the pond and inhaled a long, deep breath. Her skin was emerald green and her hair was bright red.

"It worked," Catwoman exclaimed.

"Ivy?" Batgirl said as she stepped closer to the pond. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Ivy said, standing up. "I feel amazing."

"Thank God for the leaves covering your lady bits," Catwoman said.

"As if you've never seen my "lady bits" live and in color," Ivy retorted while stepping out of the pond. She changed her skin back to it's beautiful tan.

"Whatever," Catwoman said.

"We should get you out of here," Batgirl said, holding out a hand. Ivy took it and allowed herself to be led away.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hot hot hot hot," Selina said, walking out of the kitchen into the living room carrying a scorching hot cup of tea in her hands. She quickly set it down in front of Ivy.

"That's what the saucers are for," Ivy sing-songed as she huddled over the cup and took a sip before sitting it down on a coaster.

"A simple thank you would suffice." Selina plopped down next to her plant friend.

Ivy noticed Selina staring at her. "What? I have something on my face?"

"A nose, eyes, lips, the usual."

Ivy positioned herself so that she was facing Selina with an arm on the back of the couch. "Then why are you staring?"

"You died, Ivy," Selina said, her voice small.

"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't dead. I was just... extremely dehydrated."

"You didn't have a pulse."

"I did," Ivy said. "Just not one you could feel if you didn't know where to look. By the way, did you really have to throw me?"

Selina crossed her arms. "Yes. It saved your life. Also, I'm sleeping in your room tonight because you shouldn't be alone."

"You really need to patch things up with Bruce," Ivy said. "You're being very needy."

They heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Selina yelled.

"It's Barbara," the voice said.

Selina walked over and unlocked the door. "You came to scoop me up for another CatGirl team up?"

"No," Barbara chuckled. "I wanted to talk to Ivy."

"Oh," Selina said. She stepped to the side, allowing Barbara in. "I see how it is." She left the room on her way to hers, leaving Ivy and Barbara alone.

"You can come sit," Ivy said. "I don't bite, unless you want me too," she smirked.

"Glad to see your back to normal," Barbara said, grinning from ear to ear. She sat next to Ivy. "How are you?"

"A lot better." Ivy picked up her mug. "Thank you. For saving me," she said before taking another sip.

"It was mostly Selina," Barbara responded. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments.

"I heard what you said," Ivy began, "About me being your responsibility. Is that what our friendship is based on? You feeling like you have to watch over me?"

"Not entirely," Barbara said. "I guess part of me did feel like I had to watch your every move because if you ever slipped or did a bad thing, I would never hear the end of it from my father and Batman about how wrong I was about you."

"You believed me?" Ivy asked.

"You didn't really give me a reason not to. That and I also spied on you a little." Barbara sighed, looking down at the design of Ivy's couch pillow. "They wanted it to be you so badly, especially my dad. In case you didn't know, he isn't your biggest fan."

"Oh, I know."

"It's kinda like with Selina and Bruce and how everytime she steals some diamonds, he makes a donation to the victims of her sticky fingers for the same price. In a round about way, I feel that with you, even though I know you haven't killed anyone recently." She looked up at Ivy, her brows furrowed. "Am I making sense?"

Ivy nodded, though she wasn't pleased with the analogy. "I'm the Catwoman to your Batman."

"Yeah," Barbara said. "And I can't help but feel responsible for you."

"You really don't have to," Ivy said, pulling a pillow into her lap. "I have no intention of going on a murder spree any time soon."

"That's not funny."

Ivy scrunched her face. "It kind of is."

Barbara shook her head. "You have the sense of humor of a tomato."

"Ironically, they're really funny," Ivy said, a satisfied grin on her face.

"I walked right into that one," Barbara laughed. "Oh, what's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Being called _daddy_."

Ivy used the pillow to cover her face. Her voice was muffled when she said, "She told you that?"

"Indeed she did," Barbara laughed she pulled the pillow away from Ivy's face. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I mean, you are _really_ hot and that's basically what she was saying... amongst other things."

"Other things?" Ivy asked with a genuine curiosity.

Barbara raised her brows. "If you don't know the international implications of "other things," you might be too pure, which is the funniest shit ever."

"No, tell me," Ivy said, scooting closer to her. "I'm intrigued."

"Maybe another time," Barbara yawned.

"You look really tired," Ivy said standing up. "You can stay the night or I'll walk you to your car."

"I need to sleep in my bed tonight," Barbara said. 

They walked down the long pathway and stopped when they reached Barbara's car.

Ivy turned to her. "So, if I'm the Catwoman to your Bruce, does that mean..." she arched her brow.

Barbara stepped closer to her. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said, a playful smirk on her lips.

Ivy narrowed her eyes. "I hate you."

Barbara stepped closer to her. "You couldn't if you tried."

Ivy suddenly became aware of how close they were. She wanted so badly to lean in and kiss the smug look off of Barbara's face but she didn't. She couldn't bring herself to do it. Maybe Harley did get into her head a bit but she also liked having Barbara as a friend.

Instead, she pulled Barbara in for a hug. After a minute, she stepped back and kissed her on the forehead.

"A forehead kiss?" Barbara asked. "That's very PG of you."

"I know," Ivy sighed dramatically. "Bye, Barbara."

Barbara raised an eyebrow as she watched Ivy walk up the pathway. She got into her car without putting too much thought into Ivy's reaction. Witty banter and flirting, albeit playful or otherwise, had always been their thing and she liked it better that way.

For now.


	6. Adventures In Metropolis PART ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy and Barbara have a heart to heart. In Metropolis, Lois wants to write an article on Ivy.

"We're finished," Ivy said, a hint of excitement in her voice as Alisa walked into the lab.

Alisa started toward her. "You finished it?"

Ivy nodded. "I finished it."

"Oh my God!" Alisa exclaimed, instinctively giving Ivy a hug.

Ivy tensed a the sudden contact.

"Shit," Alisa said, immediately backed away when she realized who she was hugging. "I'm- I won't die, right?"

"You will someday," Ivy said plainly, gathering the files on her table. "More importantly, we saved the plants and the bees." She smiled as the realization settled in. "They're already happy."

"Who?" Alisa asked.

"The Green," Ivy said, turning to her. "By the way, they're giving us 6 months to get results."

"If you're going to be away for six months, you know that means Dr. Andrews is going to be the acting director, right?"

"My position was secured when the board realized how much money I could make them, therefore, Dr. Andrews is not a threat to my position."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy was dragging her suitcases to her living room when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"You're favorite person in the whole wide world," Barbara said from the other side of the door.

"Hmm. I'm right here." Ivy opened the door. "Oh. It's just you," she said, failing to pretend like she wasn't happy to see the redhead.

Barbara put up her middle finger as Ivy disappeared to the back. Her attention turned to the suitcases on the floor. "You moving out?"

"No," Ivy chuckled dragging out her last suitcase. "I'm going to Metropolis for a few months. I finished the formula."

"That's amazing. Congrats," Barbara said. "How come you didn't tell me?"

"Awww. You're going to miss me, aren't you?"

"No." Barbara plopped down on the couch. "I just thought you'd tell me."

"We've both been very busy," Ivy said, sitting next to her. "I heard you put Zsasz away."

"I did," Barbara responded. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," Ivy said, noting how upset Barbara seemed that she wasn't told about the trip.

"I could give you a ride."

"I bet you'd love that," Ivy smirked. "Be here by 7am."

"Yes ma'am," Barbara laughed. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again. "Can I ask you a question? And don't you dare say I already did."

"Well, you did. Continue."

"Do you hate Batgirl?"

Ivy turned to her. "Why do you ask?"

"You saying you weren't in the mood for a Bat and that you wanted to talk to Barbara as if we aren't one in the same."

"Quite the contrary," Ivy responded. "You, Barbara, lack the authoritative presence that Batgirl has, which isn't a bad thing. When you wear the mask, you're in vigilante mode. I don't always want to talk to that version of you."

"Huh."

"To answer your question, no. I mean, Batgirl used to be a thorn in my side but I don't think I've ever hated her." Ivy smiled. "Truth be told, if it weren't for her, I'd be in jail but instead I'm going to Metropolis to test a formula I created that could potentially save a lot of lives."

Barbara leaned forward, a smug look on her face. "You're welcome."

Ivy tilted her head, eying Barbara carefully. "Do you hate Poison Ivy?" She asked, searching for the answer before the redhead opened her mouth.

"I have a better understanding of her," Barbara said. "I know that she has these voices in her head and it can push anyone to do terrible shit. Now, she's saving lives instead of ending them so no, I don't hate Poison Ivy. Not anymore. If I'm being honest, she's kinda becoming my favorite antihero, but don't tell her I said that. She already has a huge ego."

Ivy rolled her eyes with a smile. "You get on every single nerve I have."

"Tell me, doctor, how many nerves is that?"

"I'm not _that_ kind of doctor but the answer is more than 7 trillion."

"Between that and being Batgirl, I don't know how I juggle it all," Barbara said playfully.

"Very well, apparently."

Barbara sighed. "I am gonna miss you a teensy bit. I like talking to you. It's surprisingly easy."

"Hmmm." Ivy stood up. "Wish I could say the same."

"Oh, please," Barbara said, following her in the kitchen. "You like me. I know you do. In fact, you told me yourself."

Ivy furrowed her brows. "I did?"

""Fucking the Commissioner's daughter seemed like a very fun idea," is what I recall you saying."

Ivy turned to her. "That doesn't mean I _like_ you."

"No," Barbara said, not realizing Ivy was moving toward her. "But it sure does mean you wanna-"

Ivy cupped Barbara's cheeks and planted a bruising kiss on her lips. It took Barbara a moment to recover from the surprise before she started kissing Ivy back.

Ivy ended it with a soft bite of Barbara's bottom lip. "That's one way to get you to shut up."

A shit eating grin was on Barbara's face. "I was beginning to think you really _didn't_ like me."

Ivy put her hands on Barbara's shoulders and turned her around. "7am," she said, pushing her toward the kitchen doorway. A smile snuck up on her face as she watched Barbara leave through the front door.

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara pulled up to the end of Ivy's driveway where her suitcases lined the curb. She honked the horn a few times and stopped when she saw Selina walking toward her dragging Ivy's luggage. She rolled down the passenger side window.

"You look like you're having fun," Barbara said.

"Get the hell out and help," Selina responded.

"Only if you ask nicely."

Selina set the bag down. She leaned on the door of the car. "I'll kill you."

"Alrighty then." Barbara took off her seatbelt and popped the trunk before getting out of the car. She helped the brunette fill the back of her rented SUV with Ivy's luggage.

Barbara closed the trunk door. "There you are," she said as Ivy walked up to the car. "What were doing the whole time?"

"Getting ready," Ivy replied.

"The whole time? I hate you so damn much." Selina brushed past her on her way up the driveway.

"What's her deal?" Barbara asked.

"She's not a morning person." Ivy got into the passenger side of the car.

Barbara got into the driver's seat and turned to Ivy. "No kiss?"

Ivy leaned in and kissed Barbara on the cheek. 

Barbara knitted her brows. "That's it?"

"You didn't say where."

Barbara raised a mischievous brow. "I have options? Good to know."

"Drive," Ivy said.

A half hour later, Barbara and Ivy sat inside the airport watching through a large glass window as Ivy's bags were being loaded onto the S.T.A.R. Labs private jet.

"Does the Man of Steel know your coming to town?"

"More than likely," Ivy sighed. "Hopefully, he'll be too busy with the villain of the week to bother me."

Barbara looked around the airport. "I thought Alisa was going with you?"

"She had a family emergency. She'll arrive next week."

"Dr. Isley," a man said. "The plane is ready for takeoff."

Ivy nodded as she got up.

"Six months is a long time," Barbara said.

"Don't miss me too much," Ivy replied with a smile.

"I'll try not to," Barbara said, standing up. "See you when you get back and don't hesitate to call." She stood on her tippy toes and wrapped her arms around Ivy's neck. "Love you. Have fun planting and whatnot."

"You love me?" Ivy asked as Barbara unwrapped herself.

Barbara waved her off. "Don't make a thing of it." She began making her way towards the exit of the airport.

Ivy watched Barbara walk away before following the man who waited for her near the door. She didn't know how to respond to the affectionate words from the younger woman so she said nothing. And she cursed herself for it.

She did feel _something_ for Barbara but given their history, it was difficult for her to decipher what exactly she was feeling. She liked the redhead more than she'd be willing to admit but did she love her?

She didn't want to think about it. After all, she did have 6 months to decide. Work first, feelings later.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy had been in Metropolis for a day and she was already settled into the apartment she was renting for the next six months. She decided to go down to Centennial Park and enjoy the nice weather.

She walked along the pathway admiring how well the plant life was being taken care of. She ran her fingers across a bush of marigolds.

"My beautiful babies," she whispered to them. She closed her eyes and smelled the heavenly scent.

A few seconds later, a soccer ball rolled over and hit her foot. Ivy looked down at it, her brows knitted.

"Kick it," a tiny voice said.

Ivy looked up at a little boy, no older than eight, who stood a few feet away from her.

"Kick it," he said again.

"I'm wearing heels," Ivy responded. She bent down and picked up the dirty ball before rolling it to him. She turned to continue down the pathway but the ball hit her foot again.

"Kick it. It's fun," the boy said with a toothy grin.

Ivy would never harm a child but she was definitely considering it. "What's your name, little man?"

"Evan," he said, blocking the sun from his eyes. "What's yours?"

"Pamela. Where's your parents?"

The boy pointed to a bench on the other side of the park. "Over there."

"Haven't they ever told you never to talk to strangers?"

"Are you gonna kidnap me?" Evan asked as serious as he could.

"No," Ivy laughed.

"Then can you please kick the ball? I wanna play with you."

Ivy obliged and kicked the ball over to him. He kicked it back and they stood across from each other kicking it back and forth. Surprisingly enough, she was actually enjoying herself.

"Evan," a woman yelled. "Time to go sweetie."

Evan picked up the ball as Ivy kicked it. "Bye!" He waved at Ivy and ran toward his mother.

Ivy waved back before continuing down the pathway. She scoffed as she saw a large statue of Superman in her view.

"Not a fan," a man said from beside her.

Ivy turned to see Clark Kent. "Definitely not a fan."

"Ouch," Clark mouthed, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. "I've heard good things about you from out of Gotham."

"Makes sense for a man who has super hearing," Ivy replied, an eyebrow raised.

"Ahh. You know my secret."

"I figured yours out a long time ago." Ivy pointed to his face. "Those glasses aren't as helpful as you think."

Clark chuckled. "They were actually meant to help control my ability to see through things, not conceal my identity. It ended up being a happy coincidence."

"Look," Ivy started, "I came here to enjoy the sun, not chat with you, Clark."

Clark nodded. "I just came to say thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"Doing good deeds. That and choosing Metropolis for your project. Your formula could do great wonders," Clark said. "It's much appreciated."

Ivy nodded. "You're welcome."

Clark pointed an accusatory finger at her. "And no trouble."

"I'll think about it," Ivy smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~

A month had passed since Ivy and Alisa began using the new formula in the fertilizer. The plants were growing faster which is something they already knew but the point of the project was to study it's long term effects on the environment around it, more specifically the bees.

In the meantime, Alisa had invited Ivy to dinner and the redhead decided to take her up on her offer. She wore an emerald green wrap front dress with heels to match. She sat down at the table across from Alisa.

"You look lovely," Alisa said before picking up her menu.

"You do as well," Ivy replied with a genuine smile she began looking over the menu. "Have you had time to see the city since you've been here?"

Alisa perked up. "I have. It's very bright here compared to a city like Gotham where it can be very gray for long periods of time."

"Have you always lived in Gotham?"

"Yup. My entire life, though I did attend the University of Florida. Go Gators!"

A waiter walked up to them. "May I help you ladies?"

"I will have the sirloin steak cooked between medium and well done with the asparagus and house made mashed potatoes," Alisa said. She tapped her fingers on the table, still looking at the menu. "I'll also have a glass of your best champagne."

The waiter scribbled on his notepad before turning to Ivy. "And you ma'am?"

Ivy closed the menu and handed it to him. "I'll have the mandarin orange salad and a glass of champagne."

The waiter wrote down her order and walked away.

"So what about you?" Alisa asked.

"What about me?"

"Where are you from?"

"Seattle originally," Ivy responded. "I came to Gotham after I finished college."

"When did the, you know," she motioned to Ivy's... everything, "If you don't mind me asking."

"I do mind, actually," Ivy almost snapped but surely the woman didn't mean any harm.

"I'm sorry I was just curious."

"No need to apologize," Ivy said. "But never ask me that again."

Alisa nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Sure."

~~~~~~~~~~

They had been in Metropolis for two months and the plants were still making great progress but Ivy was growing restless. She was used to having someone with her when she went on vacation and although it wasn't a vacation, the free time she had made it feel less like work.

She decided to do a little shopping. What she didn't expect while she was examining a lacy, red thong was for the one and only Lois Lane to be standing right next to her.

"Dr. Pamela Isley," Lois said, a hint of a smile on her lips. "What brings you to sunnyside?"

Ivy picked up the thong, waving it in front of Lois. "Shopping."

"You know what I mean."

"I do," Ivy said, placing the underwear back on the rack. "But you already know why I'm here or else _you_ wouldn't be so what do you want?"

"I've been doing some research and found out that you've been working under the alias Paula Irving."

"And?"

"You're hiding," Lois said.

"I don't hide," Ivy said, moving to a different section.

Lois followed close behind. "I want to write an article about you. Poison Ivy: Villain To Hero, question mark?"

Ivy turned to her. "I thought fluff pieces weren't your thing?"

"It definitely is not," Lois chuckled. "My intention isn't to make you look good, or bad, for that matter. You've had a lot of ups and downs in your life. Lots of blood and gore but nonetheless, you persisted. Now you're working on a big project that could change the way we farm forever."

"This conversation is already straining and you think I would be willing to have a longer one on the record?"

"Your story is a very unique one, Ivy. That and people love a good comeback." Lois pulled out an envelope from her purse. "This is an invitation to the annual Daily Planet Gala this Saturday. Think about what I said."

Ivy took the envelope. "I'll think about thinking about it," she said giving the journalist a fake smile as she left the lingerie shop.


	7. Adventures In Metropolis PART TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara shows up in Metropolis and Jimmy Olsen questions her relationship with Ivy. Ivy and Alisa complete the project and Ivy reveals her true intentions to Dr. Raymond.

Ivy stepped into the party wearing a black off-the-shoulder dress with a slit that stopped mid-thigh. She invited Alisa to come along, mostly because she didn't want to be alone or be hounded by Lois, but Alisa needed to take a trip back to Gotham.

She swiped a glass of champagne from a waiters tray and quickly finished it before sitting it on another passing tray.

"Damn," Ivy heard someone say behind her.

She turned and saw Barbara standing there wearing a hot pink mini dress and a pair of open-toed black heels.

Barbara could feel her heart thumping in her chest at the sight of the older woman. "You look amazing," she said, allowing her gaze to slowly rake up Ivy's form before meeting her eyes.

Ivy couldn't hide the grin on her face. "Are you stalking me?"

"If you think me getting invited to this little shindig is stalking then yeah," Barbara smirked. "I guess I am."

"Then I'm a lucky woman because you look... delectable," Ivy said with an unconscious lick of her lips.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jimmy Olsen said, a camera around his neck as he got closer to the duo.

"Yes," Ivy said her eyes still trained on Barbara.

Barbara chuckled and turned to Jimmy. "No," she said as she hugged the man. "It's good to see you, Jimmy."

"Likewise." Jimmy broke the hug. "Glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss it," Barbara said.

Jimmy turned to Ivy. "It's- umm- hi Ivy."

"Hi," Ivy replied, her tone cold and even.

"You have a moment?" Jimmy asked Barbara. "I went to Bora Bora recently and I wanted to show you some of the photos I took."

"Ummm," Barbara looked at Ivy, who had a pleading look on her face, and then back to Jimmy. "Sure. Why not? Only for a few minutes though. Ivy and I are going to dinner afterwards."

"There's food here," Jimmy said, frowning his eyebrows in confusion.

"True but it's our first date," Barbara said, giving Ivy a wink. Ivy raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Sure." Jimmy ping-ponged his eyes between them. "Okay," he said, leading Barbara away.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy was on the balcony, her hand under her chin as she leaned on the ledge and watched the bright lights. Barbara was the last person she thought she'd see at the gala but she was happy the redhead was there. They'd talked on the phone a few times since she'd been in Metropolis but she still missed her.

She still thought about the moment Barbara said she loved her. The younger woman told her a few more times over the phone and Ivy still hadn't managed to say it back. She didn't know why it was so hard for her. It's not like Barbara meant it in a romantic way so surely she didn't have to either.

But saying "I love you" to someone meant having to say it more than once. It was a constant reminder that she was still human and although she'd been learning to accept that part of herself, it was still hard.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the clacking of heels against the concrete floor. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"I thought about it," she said as Lois came to stand next to her. "I'll do the article but I don't feel like your company right now."

A smug smile crept up on the journalists face. "I knew you would." She walked away from Ivy saying, "Come by the Daily Planet on Monday. 10am sharp."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you and Poison Ivy actually a thing or was that just an attempt to make her feel less... alone?" Jimmy closed the book of photos.

"It's... complicated," Barbara sighed. "Please don't turn us hanging out into you lecturing me about the dangers of falling for such a woman."

Jimmy sat the book in an empty seat. "Can you blame me? It's _Poison Ivy_ ," he whispered as if saying it to loud would make Ivy appear out of thin air.

"I would've heeded those words a year ago but she's different now," Barbara said. "Poison Ivy with a purpose is just... Dr. Pamela Isley and when you get to know her, she's actually a good person."

"You really like her, huh?"

Barbara squinted. "Define "like.""

"I hate to break it to you but you got it baaaad."

"What?" Barbara chuckled. "I do not."

"Whatever you say, Babs," Jimmy said shaking his head. "Whatever you say. Just be careful, alright?"

"Always," Barbara said with a nod.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy was still on the balcony but she was ready to leave now. She went over to the elevator and pressed the down button. A minute later the elevator doors opened and Barbara stood inside.

"Leaving so soon?" She asked Ivy, stepping out.

"Something like that," Ivy said as the doors closed behind Barbara.

"We could still go to dinner," Barbara said.

"Except you didn't plan on staying in Metropolis overnight but thanks for the invitation."

Barbara looked at nothing in particular when her gaze shifted to the concrete. "Maybe when you get back home we could go to dinner."

"Like a date?" Ivy asked.

Barbara shrugged. "Yeah."

A warm smile was on Ivy's face as she placed a hand under Barbara's chin and tilted her head so that the younger woman was looking at her. "I'd like that a lot."

Barbara stared into Ivy's green orbs. She felt something deep in her gut that overwhelmed her senses and made the feelings she had for Ivy clear. She snaked a hand around Ivy's neck and pulled her in for a long, languid kiss. She wanted to remember everything about this moment from the scent of Ivy's strawberry shampoo to the way Ivy's hands trailed up her side to the way that their closeness allowed her to feel Ivy's fast heartbeat. Then, an unexpected moan escaped past her lips as Ivy's tongue slid into her mouth.

Ivy smiled into Barbara's mouth before breaking the kiss.

"Don't say a fucking word," Barbara said as menacing as she could.

"If I knew I could make you moan with a simple kiss," Ivy smirked, wrapping her arms around Barbara's waist, "I would've done it a long time ago."

"I hate you so much right now," Barbara smiled. She wanted so badly to wipe the smugness off of Ivy's face but decided to let her have this. "I need to get going."

"Call me when you get back." Ivy dipped her head and gave Barbara a quick kiss.

Barbara smiled, biting her lip. "I will."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy was in a lab at the Metropolis division of S.T.A.R. Labs. It was their third month in Metropolis and she was going over the progress of the formula. The bees were pollinating the flowers but there was still no sign of whether or not it would end badly for the winged creatures.

Alisa walked in holding a newspaper. "Lois Lane left this for you," she said, flipping through the pages. "It's a great read."

"I'm sure it is," Ivy replied, paying no real attention to Alisa or the article.

"Don't you want to read it?"

"I did the interview. I know what it says."

Alisa placed the article in front of her. "True but I still think you should read it."

Ivy let out an annoyed grunt. She read through the article and something caught her attention. "And while she is a former villain/eco-terrorist," Ivy began reading, "The work she's accomplished with her partner, Alisa Adams, since her release from Arkham Asylum, shouldn't go unnoticed."

"You talked about me to _the_ Lois Lane?" Alisa swooned. "I could die."

Ivy closed the papers. "It's alright. Not her best work but it could do us some good if we were to, say, start our own company."

Alisa raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry. What?"

Ivy shrugged nonchalantly. "We make a good team and there's still _so much_ work to be done."

"Yeah but I didn't think this partnership was a lasting one," Alisa said. "You really think we could start our own company? Together?"

"As long as mankind walks amongst the earth, my duty to The Green will never be fulfilled but what I can do is ensure that it's taken care of to the best of my abilities." Ivy turned to Alisa. "Our abilities," she corrected.

~~~~~~~~~~

"It works." Alisa's hands were on her head as she paced around the vineyard. "It really works."

"Did you really have any doubts?"

"Of course not," Alisa said. "It's just- holy shit we actually did it."

"We're changing the world," Ivy smiled. "The right way."

"And it only took four months."

Ivy picked a tomato from where it hang on the vine. She wiped it on her apron and handed it to Alisa. "Try it."

Alisa gave Ivy a heartwarming smile as she took it. "Thank you." She bit into it. "Mmmm. That might be the best tomato I've ever had and I like to think of myself as a tomato connoisseur."

Ivy chuckled. "We still have some work to do before we can head back to Gotham but for the most part, we're done here."

"I think it's amazing that everything we planted here goes to the homeless shelters."

Ivy nodded. "Superman wouldn't have it any other way."

~~~~~~~~~~

During the fifth month, their project was complete and they were back in Gotham. Ivy settled back into her house with Selina's help.

"You should've brought some of that fancy fruit home," Selina whined.

"You should've visited me," Ivy responded, hanging up her clothes in the closet.

"So you could talk my ear off about plants and fertilizer? No thanks."

Ivy laughed. She missed the brunette but she'd never tell her. "How was it when I was away?" She hung up her last article of clothing.

"Scary." Selina plopped down on the redheads bed. "If I'm being honest, it did make me super zen but as fun as gardening can be, I wouldn't take it up as a hobby so never leave me alone with them again."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ivy said. She headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Selina asked.

"S.T.A.R. Labs."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy knocked on Dr. Raymond's door.

"Come in," he called.

Ivy opened the door. "Dr. Raymond."

"Dr. Isley, just the woman I wanted to see. Please, have a seat."

Ivy obliged and sat in the chair in front of him. "Before you say anything I just wanted to let you know that I did in fact take your advice about using my name. My _real_ name."

"That's amazing," Dr. Raymond said. "What brings you to my office, other than the project?"

"I wanted to let you know that I quit."

Dr. Raymond knitted his brows in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"When I said I'd be sticking around for a bit, that wasn't anywhere near the truth," Ivy began, "My work here at S.T.A.R. Labs is done. I'm going to sell the formula I created and this establishment won't see a pretty penny of it. Then, I'll start my own company."

"You stole that formula from Dillon." Dr. Raymond flashed a smile. "If you know what's best for you, you'd reconsider."

"I did take his formula, yes, but I couldn't reengineer it because it was tainted."

The older man came to a realization. "So you created a new formula from scratch." He massaged his chin.

"And I obtained a patent for it." Ivy leaned forward. "I own it," she replied, her voice closer to a whisper. Dr. Raymond was visibly angry and she loved it.

"You have a contract," he hissed.

Ivy sat back. "That I never signed because you just gave me the job and I don't think your employers are going to be too happy about that slip."

"You threatened my goddamn family!" Dr. Raymond yelled.

Ivy let out a breathy laugh. "Did you really think I'd be dumb enough to do that and jeopardize my project?"

"You've done worse," the man spat.

"I have," Ivy stated proudly. She stood from her seat. "I do appreciate you letting me use your resources to complete my mission but like I said, my work here is done."

"Get the hell out of my office!"

"Gladly," Ivy said. She exited the office with a satisfied grin.


	8. Do you love her?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy has a meeting with Bruce at Wayne Industries. Barbara gives Ivy the keys to her house which leads to intimate moments between the two until they're interrupted by a knock on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Some sexual content between Ivy and Barbara in the end. Feel free to skip of you're not comfortable.

Ivy sat in Selina's car with her arms crossed and a blindfold on her face. Selina walked over to the passenger side.

"Are you ready?" she asked Ivy as she opened the door.

"To get this scratchy blindfold off of my face? Yes."

Selina grabbed Ivy's hand. "That's not what you were saying last time I used it on you." She led Ivy out of the car, guiding her toward the apartment.

"Fuck you," Ivy said, her tone not nearly as menacing as she wanted it to be.

"If I remember correctly, you were saying "fuck me,"" Selina teased.

"I hate you so much right now."

"That's what you said before you-" Selina was cut off by a vine slithering up her arm. She laughed. "Lighten up, Ivy. It's your birthday."

The vine slithered away. "You know I hate my birthday."

"Well don't think of it as a birthday party. Think of it as a celebration of your project that happens to take place on your birthday."

They were outside of Selina's apartment. She put her key in the door before turning to Ivy. "You can take the blindfold off now."

Ivy removed the blindfold. "What was the point of it in the first place? I already know this is a party."

Selina thought for a moment. "I don't know." She unlocked the door and opened it.

"Surprise!"

Big Tony, Queenie and Eggy stood in the middle of Selina's apartment with party hats on. Harley walked out of the kitchen carrying a birthday cake.

"Aww man," she began, "Yer like a minute too early." She shrugged and walked toward Ivy. "Anyway, happy birthday buttacup! Blow out yer candles."

As much as she hated celebrating her birthday, Selina and Harley always went out of their way to make it special. She smiled before taking a deep breath and blowing out the fire. "I really appreciate you guys for coming."

"Wouldn't miss it," Tony said.

"It's good to see you, Ivy," Queenie piped up. "Coney has been crazy as hell since you left."

Ivy laughed. "I'll try to visit more often."

"Or perhaps we should visit _you_ more often," Eggy said.

"Oh, no," Ivy said chuckling nervously. "That's not necessary."

"Tool wanted to be here but he had business elsewhere," Tony said. "Apparently some chick from the futu-"

"That's enough chatter fer today, Tony," Harley said as she placed the cake on the table. She turned to wrap her arms around Ivy's waist. "I know I said I'd visit ya in Metro but I hadda lot of business to take care of with the team. I'm sorry and I promise I'll make it up to ya."

"How?"

"Vacation. Jus' let me know where ya wanna go and when."

Ivy smiled. "Okay." She dipped her head and kissed Harley on the lips.

A knock was on the door. Selina opened it.

"Am I late?" Barbara asked, Ivy's present in her hand.

"Right on time." Selina moved to the side and let Barbara in. "We're just getting started."

Barbara stepped in and something caught her attention. Ivy was kissing Harley.

"Barbara Gordon, right?" Eggy asked.

Ivy swiftly turned her head, thankful to out her attention on something else.

"Yes," Barbara replied turning to him. "And you are?"

Eggy extended a robotic arm. "Edgar Fullerton but you can call me Eggy."

"Nice to meet you, Eggy. Nice to meet all of you."

Queenie and Tony nodded.

"Barbara," Ivy said. "Hi."

"Hi." Barbara gave her the present. "I just came to drop this off."

"You aren't staying?"

"Umm," Barbara looked around the room and everyone had their eyes trained on them. "I have... work. At the library."

"Right," Ivy said laughing to herself.

"Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

Ivy nodded. She took Barbara's hands and led her out the door, closing it behind her. "I assume you saw me kissing Harley."

"I did and to answer the question you have swirling in that beautiful brain of yours, I'm not jealous."

"Good," Ivy said. She squinted. "But _why_?"

"I already know about your relationship with Harley, remember? Any jealousy I've had I overcame it."

"Then what did you want to talk about?"

Barbara stood on her tiptoes and pulled the taller woman in for a soft kiss. "Open your present when you're alone."

Ivy smirked. "What is it?"

"You'll find out when you're alone." Barbara winked before turning and making her way to the elevator.

Ivy turned to open the door and heard the scattering of footsteps. "You're all very nosey."

Selina pointed to the hallway. "You should go talk to her."

Ivy walked into Selina's bedroom where Harley was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Hey."

Harley turned to her. "Hey."

"You okay?" Ivy said closing the door behind her and sitting next to Harley.

"You lost the bet."

"I didn't have sex with her."

"Yet."

Ivy tilted her head. "Why does it bother you?"

Harley shrugged. "Dunno."

"I thought we weren't doing the whole jealousy thing?"

Harley sighed. "We aren't."

"Then why are you?"

Harley turned and looked up at Ivy. "What if you stop loving me?"

Ivy laughed, hugging the blonde. "I could never. Harley and Ivy is forever. Barbara and Ivy is still new."

"Do you love her?"

"I don't know."

"Does she make ya happy?"

Ivy nodded. "Yeah, when she's not being all-"

"Like Batgirl?"

"You know she's Batgirl?"

"Uhhh yeah. I've known about the whole bat fam fer a while now."

"Huh."

"I would've told ya but ya kinda hated Batman and wanted to kill him. But," she took Ivy's hand. "If she makes you happy then I'm happy."

Ivy kissed Harley on the forhead. "Thank you, Peanut."

"Does that mean we're a throuple now?"

"A what?" Ivy asked, a questioning eyebrow raised.

"A throuple. Ya know, a three piece without the biscuit. A trio of love. The Three Musketeers."

"Well, I don't want you and Barbara to have sex," Ivy said, disturbed at the thought. "My relationship with you is separate from my relationship from her."

Harley furrowed her brows. "So no threesome?"

"Definitely not."

Selina burst into the room, pointing an accusatory finger at them. "You two better not be having sex on my bed."

~~~~~~~~~~

Batgirl chased down a goon driving a van full of money and jewels on her batcycle. She followed him into the parking lot of a warehouse. The goon, wearing a mask, jumped of the car with two batons in his hand. Batgirl parked her ride and got off of it.

"Cluemaster's been out of jail for a week and he already has flunkies?" she said.

"Come at me, BG."

"I'd prefer it if you came to me."

Just then, a woman wearing a mask snuck up behind Batgirl. Already knowing the woman was there, Batgirl ducked the bat the woman swung at her. She turned and punch the woman in her gut, causing her to fall to the ground.

"You bitch" the woman struggled to breathe.

"Whatever happened to sister solidarity?" Batgirl shook her head and picked up the bat, setting it on her shoulder. "So much for women sticking together."

The goon grunted angrily. "That's my little sister."

Batgirl pointed the bat at him. "And you should be ashamed having her out here at this hour of the night."

The goon rushed her. She got down on one knee and swung the bat at his foot. He fell to the ground, seething in pain. Three more goons came up to her and she engaged in a battle with them that ended with her injuring her shoulder.

She held her arm as another goon came forward. He picked up the fallen batons.

"I'm gonna kill you you filthy bat."

Batgirl backed herself into the van. "I'd like to see you try."

A woman flipped from the top of the van and landed in a crouching position in front of the goon. She wore a purple cape with a hood and a suit to match with a black mask, gloves and boots.

The woman stood up. "If you want to get to her, you'll have to go through me."

"Okay, I will," the goon said. Batgirl watched in awe as the woman battled the bigger man, using his momentum to knock him off balance before she landed the final blow, swinging the bat at his nuts. He collapsed to the ground.

"Who are you?" Batgirl asked.

"Spoiler." The woman ran off into the distance.

Still holding her arm, Batgirl walked over to her batcycle. She thought about following the woman but she was in too much pain.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy walked up to the bench in Robinson Park where Alisa was sitting. "Alisa."

Alisa turned around, staring daggers at Ivy. "You fucking asshole."

"Excuse me?" Ivy said, crossing her arms.

Alisa got dangerously close, pointing a finger at her. "You are a manipulative bitch and the only reason I'm saying this to your face is because we're in public and I have witnesses if you tried anything."

"I can be a bitch, yes. I also have no qualms about manipulating people to get what I want but this is common knowledge about Poison Ivy. For what reason are you pointing this out now?"

"I was fired today because of you, because I was your partner."

"You were fired because Dr. Raymond is an idiot and doesn't appreciate your talents, not because of me."

"I'm out of a job and I have a child to take care of and thanks to you, I'll have to move back to Philly with my mother because I'll be blacklisted by every company I apply for."

Ivy uncrossed her arms. "You have a kid?"

Alisa dropped her shoulders. "Yes."

"Don't go packing your bags for Philadelphia just yet," Ivy said as she brushed past her and sat on the bench. "You'll receive half of any profits I make from selling the formula. Within the next two months, you'll have more money than you know what to do with."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna need that in writing, sweet pea."

Ivy crossed her legs, a sly smile on her face. "You don't trust me?"

"Hell no I don't."

"I wouldn't respect you if you did," Ivy said. "You'll have it in writing by tonight."

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara carried a cup of hot tea over to her coffee table and gingerly sat down on her couch, her back leaning up against the armrest. She took a deep breath. The doctors told her she had a shoulder fracture and she knew she would be out of action for atleast two months.

She thought about that woman who called herself Spoiler. Barbara assumed the woman gave her the tip about the heist which likely meant there was a new vigilante in town and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Barbara heard keys dangling outside her door. She reached under the table for the gun her father gave her and watched as the knob turned.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "It's just you."

"Not happy to see me?" Ivy asked as she closed the door behind her. She jiggled the keys. "Love the birthday present but if I'm being honest, I thought it was a box filled with photos of you in your bat suit doing naughty poses."

"Ew," Barbara said, scrunching her face.

"I was mildly disappointed." Ivy examined the parts of the house she could see. "Very... homey. I like it."

"Your place is a mega mansion and you like this tiny place?"

"Mansions are overrated. It makes ones loneliness that much more obvious but I do enjoy my space." A fond smile was on Ivy's face as she saw picture of Jim and Barbara when she was a kid. "I want to fill it someday."

"You want kids?"

Ivy turned to her. "Yeah." She noticed the sling on Barbara's arm when she sat down next to her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just a shoulder fracture."

"Just a shoulder fracture? That means no Batgirl for months."

Barbara slumped into the couch. "Don't remind me."

"I can give you something. It's 100% your choice and it could help you heal faster but it would change other things about you."

"Is it that serum you gave Harley?"

"Yes."

"I don't know. I've always prided myself on my training and the fact that I learned how to do everything I was taught without a cheat code like superpowers."

"But?"

"I've never been out of action for more than a few days. Two months is like a lifetime for me."

"You don't have to take it but I want you to know that it is an option."

"I would kiss you right now but if I move my arm it might fall off."

Ivy crawled over to her. "You could've just said you wanted me to kiss you."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Ivy placed her hands on either side of Barbara's thighs and moved in to place a quick kiss on her lips. "You look adorable with your glasses on."

"Is that your way of talking dirty to me?"

Ivy furrowed her brows. "It's a compliment."

Barbara smiled and pulled Ivy in for a longer kiss, their lips melding together in heated bliss. Ivy moved closer and deepened it, eliciting a moan from Barbara.

Ivy broke the kiss, her face inches from Barbara's and her voice barely a whisper. "If that's how you react after a kiss, I can't want to see and hear your reaction after I put my mouth to better use."

"You say the sweetest things," Barbara blushed but something suddenly changed her mood.

Ivy sensed it. "What's wrong?"

"Do you remember when I told you about my mom leaving?"

"Yeah," Ivy said sitting back in her spot.

"I've been thinking about it a lot recently." Barbara shifted in her seat, wincing when she moved her arm too much. "When she left, she took my younger brother JJ with her and I can't think of a good reason why she'd do that."

"Does your father know why?"

Barbara sighed. "He says he doesn't but I know there's something he's not telling me."

"Fathers can be the worst," Ivy said as memories of that fateful day swam in her mind. "Mines killed my mother and buried her in her own garden when I was twelve. After he went to prison, I was raised by my neighbor."

"I take it your neighbor didn't approve of Poison Ivy."

"Nope. She always said I had the power to change the world and she was disappointed that I chose a life of crime but she told me "No matter how much horrible shit life throws at you, Pam, always remember your beating heart.""

"She's a wise woman."

"You kind of remind me of her."

"Did you have the hots for her too?"

Ivy's face contorted in disgust. "That's disgusting."

"That wasn't a no."

"It was _heavily_ implied."

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Ivy walked through the front doors of Wayne Industries. She remembered the floor Selina told her and she got on the elevator. When she stepped off, a group of men wearing expensive suits walked past her. One of the men's eyes went wide when he recognized who she was.

"Dr. Isley," Bruce said, walking toward her from the opposite direction. The rest of the men turned to Ivy and put a little more pep in their step as they cautiously walked away.

"Bruce," Ivy responded.

"Follow me," he said. "I have to admit, when Selina said you wanted a meeting with me, I was very nervous as to why."

Ivy internally rolled her eyes as she followed behind him. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it already."

"I don't doubt it."

They walked into Bruce's office. He let Ivy in first and she sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

"What can I do for you?" Bruce asked as he sat down in his chair.

"You own the empty building downtown and I want you to sell it to me along with the surrounding land."

"Why would I do that?"

"A long time ago I promised to make Gotham green and I intend to keep that promise."

"You still manipulate people for your own personal gains and you're not above cold-blooded murder," Bruce reminded her. "I would sell it to you but how do I know you've truly changed?"

"It doesn't matter if I changed or not. What matters is making Gotham the stomping grounds for a greener future in a non-violent way. I figured you'd appreciate that."

"I do," he said, flashing his perfect teeth as he smiled.

Ivy clasped her hands in her lap. "I want to start my own company and I need that building and land to do it."

"You could have it for free if you worked with me whenever I needed your help and you became a member of the Justice League."

"That's too high of a price," Ivy said, leaning forward. "I'm not interested in playing hero with the likes of Wonder Woman and Superman."

"Okay. $3.4 million for the building and the land will cost $2.08 million for all 65 acres."

"And it's all mines?"

"All yours."

"No loopholes or strings attached?"

"None."

Ivy stood up. She had a playful smirk on her face as she extended her hand. "Pleasure doing business with you, Bruce."

Bruce stood and shook Ivy's hand. "The pleasures all mines." He watched as Ivy walked away. "Hey, Ivy?"

Ivy turned around. "Yes?"

"For what it's worth, I do believe you've changed or rather you're taking the right steps."

Ivy studied the seemingly genuine smile on his face. "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy reached into her purse and pulled out the set of keys, one of which belonged to Barbara's house. She unlocked the door and opened it. It was still early in the morning, 10am to be exact, and there was no sign of the woman.

"Barbara?"

"Kitchen!"

Ivy closed the door behind her made her way to the kitchen. She leaned against the doorway and watched as Barbara struggled to mix pancake batter. "Need some help?"

Barbara, wearing an untied apron, turned to her and breathed a deep sigh. "I do and I hate it."

Ivy sat her bag on the counter and walked over to Barbara. "I'll make your breakfast," she said. She gave Barbara a quick kiss on the lips before taking the apron off of her and fixing it on herself. She then took the bowl from her and began mixing the contents. "Just pancakes?"

"Turkey bacon in the fridge." Barbara pulled out a chair and sat down. "What made you stop by?"

Ivy sat the bowl down. "I figured you were already fed up with your current condition," she said, searching the fridge for the bacon. "But were too stubborn to ask for the serum."

"You brought it?"

Ivy turned to her. "Yeah. You can decide after breakfast if you want it or not." She turned and began placing strips of bacon on it. She then buttered the other half.

"Is it gonna change who I am? Like my amazing sense of humor or my photographic memory."

Ivy chuckled. "No. It'll make you stronger and faster than the average human and you'll be immune to most toxins but most importantly, it'll help you heal faster." She poured the batter on the skillet making perfectly round circles.

"Hmm. That's not bad at all."

"But," Ivy said as she turned to Barbara again. "There is one side effect."

Barbara raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"This serum is stronger than the first one I gave to Harley. When I gave her this version, I noticed that it slowed down her aging process."

"Harley Quinn is immortal? RIP Gotham."

"Not exactly. She could still die if someone, say, stabbed her in the heart but if she isn't murdered, she could live for a very, very long time."

"So not only will I be stronger and faster but I'd stay young forever _and_ Joker venom won't effect me? I'm sold."

Ivy turned and flipped the food on the griddle. "Yes but I wouldn't go provoking him to test it out."

"I just really wanna get back in action. There's a new vigilante in town and she calls herself Spoiler. I wanna find out who she is."

"Why?" Ivy asked as she plated the food.

"I think it's a kid. Well, teen."

"Let me guess, you plan on taking the Batman route and making her your protege?"

Barbara turned up her nose. "Maybe."

Ivy sat the food in front of Barbara and sat in the chair across from her. "Can I ask you a question?"

Barbara used her left hand to pour syrup all over her pancakes. "Thank you and you just did," she smirked before eating a piece of pancake.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Do you want kids?"

"Sometime in the future. Why? Are you gonna knock me up?"

Ivy raised a perfectly manicured brow. "Perhaps."

"I love kids." Barbara ate a piece of bacon and chewed it before continuing. "I mean, they can be snotty nosed brats at times but they're adorable and loving and I for sure know I'd be a better mother than mine was."

"Not that I doubt it but what makes you so sure?"

Barbara shrugged. "I just know."

After Barbara finished eating, Ivy washed the plate and set it in the dish rack to dry. She moved to her purse and pulled out a vial of liquid.

She handed it to Barbara. "Harley says it's disgusting so let that be a warning."

"I'm ready," Barbara said, taking the vial from Ivy. She opened it and quickly drank the liquid. Her face contorted in disgust. "That's is _so_ disgusting."

"I told you." Ivy pulled out another vial. "This will help with the taste."

Barbara quickly drank the contents. "Mmmm. Tastes like cotton candy."

"How do you feel?"

"Like I wanna run around the block to see how fast I am or punch Superman in the gut to test my strength."

Ivy smiled. "Punching Superman _is_ quite fun."

"My arm still kinda hurts."

"That will take about an hour to fully heal."

Barbara pouted as she got out of the chair. "Well, I guess I have to wait." She grabbed Ivy's hand and pulled her out of the kitchen and guided her toward her bedroom. "Do you like the Food Network?"

Ivy looked at all the pictures that lined the wall leading into Barbara's room. "Iron Chef America is the greatest show ever."

"Ummmm, no. Works Cooks in America is."

"It's not even top 5 on the network itself."

Barbara gasped, placing hand on her chest. "My feelings are hurt"

"It's true," Ivy said, looking around the room. It was almost empty besides the bed and vanity mirror that held all kinds of perfumes and make up. She did notice that the closets were huge.

Barbara crawled on her bed and sat down, her back leaning against the headboard. She patted the space next to her. "You can sit. I don't bite." A sly smile crept up on her face. "Unless you want me too."

Ivy shook her head with a smile. She kicked off her heels and sat next to Barbara. "Where's the tv?"

Barbara picked up the remote. She pointed it at the TV and pressed the button. A TV rose from the footboard and turned on.

"I... was not expecting that."

"The best way to watch television," Barbara said, lying down on her side, her head in her hand as she watched TV.

It was two episodes in to Worst Cooks in America and a small smile was on Ivy's face as she watched the younger woman's animated way of talking about the events of the show. It was that moment she realized she did love Barbara.

Barbara looked up at Ivy about to say something but smiled when she realized Ivy was staring at her. "Like something you see?"

Ivy moved so that she was on top of Barbara and straddled her hips, her hands on either side of Barbara's head. She stared deeply into the green eyes below her, her heart thudding in her chest.

She wanted to say the words but she didn't know how. Instead, she captured Barbara's lips in a sweet and passionate kiss, hoping her actions conveyed how she felt.

Barbara moved her hands to Ivy's back, slowly trailing them to the redhead's plump ass and giving it a squeeze.

"Mmmm." Ivy broke the kiss, staring down at Barbara. "You're so beautiful," she said, pressing their foreheads together.

"And you are absolutely divine," Barbara breathed out. She flipped their positions so that Ivy was on the bottom. "Are we really doing this?"

"If you want to."

"Do you?" Barbara asked.

Ivy pulled Barbara into her for another kiss, this one longer then the first. She continued her gentle exploration, kissing every inch of Barbara's lips, marveling at how full and soft they were.

"I take that as a yes?"

"Yes," Ivy said, her voice low and sultry.

Barbara couldn't help the smile forming on her lips. She sunk herself between Ivy's legs. "You know, if someone told me two years ago that I'd be making out with Poison Ivy in my bedroom, well, I don't even know what my reaction would be."

"Considering you've had a crush on me since the moment we met, I assume you'd be ecstatic."

"You had a crush on me too."

"I thought you were cute. There's a difference."

Barbara bit her lip as she moved their covered centers together. "You thought I was cute?"

Ivy closed her eyes as Barbara grinded into her. Before she could retort, there was a knock at the door.

"Shit," Barbara sighed.

"If you ignore it, it'll go away."

"I can't ignore it," Barbara said as she removed herself from between Ivy. "What if it's important?" She walked down the hallway, making her way to the front door. She looked through the peephole and her soul left her body when she saw who it was.

Ivy walked into the front room. "Who is it?" She whispered.

"My dad," Barbara mouthed.

Ivy bit her lip to keep herself from smiling as she crossed her arms.

Barbara glared at her, whispering "Go back in my room. I'll get him to leave."

Ivy furrowed her brows, a mix sadness and anger washing over her expression. She complied anyway, walking back into the room.

"I can hear you Barbara," Jim yelled from the other side of the door.

Barbara took a deep breath and opened the door. She leaned against the door frame. "Hi, dad!"

Jim eyed her curiously. "I came by to check on you. How's your arm?"

It was then she realized she still had the sling on and wasn't feeling any pain. "It's doing a lot better."

"Am I interrupting something?"

Barbara shook her head quickly. "No."

"Can I come in?"

"Oh. Right." Barbara moved to the side allowing him to enter.

"You sure I'm not interrupting something? I mean, you have someone else's lipstick on your lips."

Barbara touched her lips and laughed nervously. "I was... ummm..."

"Sweetie, who was it at the door?" Ivy asked as she walked into the front room with nothing covering her body except for a purple, silk robe. "Good morning, Commissioner. Well, it's the afternoon now. I tend to lose track of time when I'm having fun."

Barbara pinched the bridge of her nose. She should've known Ivy was going to react this way.

Jim ping-ponged his gaze between Ivy and Barbara. "What the hell is going on here?"

Ivy walked over to Barbara and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Before you interrupted us, we were about to-"

"Ivy," Barbara pleaded.

Jim motioned between them. "So you two..."

"Yes," Ivy stated proudly. "We're dating."

Jim shifted his gaze to Barbara who said nothing. "I-I'm gonna leave." He walked to the door and left.

Barbara moved Ivy's hand from her shoulder. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"I don't want to be your little secret, Barbara."

"You're not but it's my dad," Barbara explained, her tone frustrated. "You know how he is when it comes to you."

Ivy crossed her arms, suddenly feeling vulnerable. "Are you ashamed to be with me?"

"Did I seem ashamed when I was between your legs with my tongue down your throat?"

"No."

"It's just," Barbara plopped down on the couch. "I'm the daughter of the great Jim Gordon. People who don't even know me have super high expectations of who I am or what I should be."

"It sounds like you're afraid of what they might think of our relationship."

"No, I don't care about what they'll think. I just don't care to have my relationship in the spotlight."

Ivy sat down next to Barbara. "So, you don't want to hide me, you want to keep your private life private."

"Yes. Although, I was trying to hide you from my dad," she admitted with a sheepish smile. "He's not going to be too happy about us and I'll be subjected to a two hour lecture about Poison Ivy and how _dangerous_ you can be."

"Hmmm. Sounds like an interesting class."

Barbara's attention turned to the robe. "Are you... naked under there?" She asked, pulling on the belt of the robe.

"Yes, but I have to get going. I have a meeting to prepare for in the morning and I haven't even started on my presentation."

"But I want a taste," Barbara pouted.

"And you can wait for it," Ivy chuckled. She kissed Barbara on the lips, biting the bottom one. "We have all the time in the world."


	9. I don't want to die.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivy has a meeting at Wayne Enterprises with potential buyers. Robin and Batgirl team up to stop Cluemaster with the help of Spoiler but the mission goes south when one of them is poisoned.

Barbara, wearing tights and a tank top, opened the door to her cave. When she walked in, Damian was sitting in one of the swivel chairs at the table.

"You creep," Barbara said as she walked over to his chair. She bent over, her hands on the armrests. "What are you doing here?"

"Won't you ask me _how_ I got in here?"

"You're the grandson of Ra's al Ghul and the son of Batman blah blah blah." She got closer to him, her face inches from his. "Did your father send you?"

"No."

"Did mine?"

Damian laughed in her face. "You're not very intimidating without the cowl."

"Screw you, Damian." Barbara straightened up. "Why are you here?"

"My father is out of town with Selina. Also, Alfred told me about your injury and I wanted to come by and examine it myself."

"Awww, you came to see if I was okay?" Barbara pinched his cheek. "You're so precious," she said in a baby voice.

Damian smacked her hand away. "Stop it."

"Since you're here and dressed for the occasion, you wanna spar?"

"What about your injury?"

"It's healed."

"Sure," Damian said, eying her skeptically.

They walked over and picked up their sets of sticks from where they lay on the mat. Both got into a fighting stance.

"You ready?" Barbara asked.

"Always."

They began their sparring session.

"What is this _thing_ between you and Ivy?" Damian asked, hitting his stick against Barbara's.

"It's a thing I don't need to explain to you or anyone for that matter." Barbara knocked the stick out of his hand

Damian noticed a quickness in Barbara's movements that he had never seen before. They continued. "Can you explain it anyway?"

"She likes me," Barbara replied, knocking the other stick out of his hand. "And I like her. What else is there to explain?"

Damian blocked the onslaught of hits with his forearms. "This is Poison Ivy we're talking about. The same woman who's murdered people in cold blood. It wasn't long ago when she threatened to kill _you_." He winced when the stick made contact with his rib.

Barbara used the slight distraction to kick his legs out from under him. She held a stick to his throat. "I don't deny any of that but Ivy's different now." She extended a hand to him. "She's not the same person she used to be."

Damian took her hand. "How can you be so sure?" he asked, picking up the sticks and getting back into his stance.

"Because I'm a good listener." They continued their battle with Barbara once again pinning Damian to the mat.

Damian used his feet to flip Barbara. He then pinned the stick to her throat. "How are you suddenly so-" Before he could finish, Barbara had him pinned again. "Strong?"

"And fast," Barbara replied with a wink. She pulled him to his feet. "I feel brand new."

"She gave you that serum, didn't she?"

"She did."

"And you took it because you know you could never spar with a skilled pro like me and win."

"You were raised by an elite group of assassins but you're too cocky." They continued sparring. "I was taught to exploit my opponents weakness."

This time, their battle ended with Barbara putting him in a headlock.

"I've bested you without the serum," she whispered in his ear.

"That was... a fluke," he struggled to say.

Barbara let him go. "Sure it was."

Damian got into a fighting stance once more "You love her, don't you?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"You _raise_ a lot of questions."

Barbara shrugged. "Is it really so bad if I did?"

"No. I mean, look at Selina and my dad. On paper, they're the most unconventional couple but they love each other. In my experience, sometimes that's all that matters."

"What experience do you have?"

"I have a school girlfriend?"

Barbara laughed. "A what?"

"A girlfriend that I only hang out with at school."

"That's- wow." Barbara charged him.

He held his sticks up in surrender. "Wait?" 

Barbara backed up. "What?"

"I wanted to say I'm... sorry if I upset you that day on the rooftop. Although I meant what I said, I was mostly angry because," he let out a deep breath, "you're the closest thing that I have to a sister but you didn't want to be on the team anymore."

"I don't have to be on the team for you and I to team up or even hang out, you know that, right?"

A look of genuine surprise was on Damian's face. "I do now."

~~~~~~~~~~

"How the hell did you get Bruce Wayne to let you use a conference room at his company for this meeting?" Alisa asked as Ivy walked up to her.

"Long story short, his big mouthed beau told him about it and he offered the room to me. He's also letting us use the research lab here to develop more of the formula."

Ivy unlocked the door. Alisa stood up and followed her into the room. The duo set up their presentation and waited for the arrival of potential buyers.

A half hour later, a group of fifteen men and women spilled into the room, taking a seat next to each other at the table.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," Ivy began.

"Good morning," the group replied.

"As you all know by now, my name is Dr. Pamela Isley and this," she turned to Alisa, "is my partner."

"Dr. Alisa Adams."

"Today we will be talking with you all about a formula we created called GreenCrop."

Ivy began their presentation, going through the slides and explaining the study of the crops and how it effected the environment. Alisa chimed in, speaking of the impact the formula will have not only on the future of farming but the impact it will have on the health of those who consume the crops.

"I'm sure you're all familiar with the name Benedict Dillon," Ivy said, eliciting scoffs and light chatter from the group. "He sold his fertilizer to you without mentioning the growth enhancer he used along with it that ended up having a catastrophic impact not only on your pockets but on the life of bees. I'm pretty sure you all know how important they are to the well-being of mankind. Without them, humanity will cease to exist."

"You're Poison Ivy," a woman piped up. "Isn't that what you want?"

Ivy wanted to wrap a vine around the woman's slim neck but the selling of the formula was more important. "What I want is to protect plant life. That's always been my number one priority."

"It's also a priority you've killed for, need I remind you," a man replied.

"Mine and Dr. Isley's goals are aligned," Alisa said, seeing the fiery green in Ivy's eyes. " _All_ life on earth will benefit from this formula."

Ivy sent a genuine smile at Alisa before speaking again. "Benedict Dillon sold you his faulty fertilizer for $200 million a year. We're practically robbing ourselves by offering it to you for $100 million but our priority is not money. It's sustaining life."

Alisa walked over to a cart of briefcases and began handing them out. "Inside of each case are samples of the formula we tested in Metropolis."

These people loved money and Ivy was going to play into that. "This is just a small taste of what could make all you much, much richer." She watched as they opened their briefcases. "Your profits per year will more than triple the asking price and that's why I guarantee that within the next two months, you will all return to Gotham with open wallets ready to embark on a journey to save the planet and it's inhabitants."

"This meeting is adjourned," Alisa said. The group closed their briefcases and headed out the door, each of them shaking the hand of Ivy and Alisa.

When the room cleared out, one of the men remained.

"Wilson Grey of Chester Inc.," he said, shaking their hand.

"You're not Ken Chester," Ivy said.

"I'm his business partner."

"He never mentioned you."

Wilson smiled. "He's kind of a dick but he is here in Gotham at a brunch meeting with Bruce Wayne."

Alisa noticed he left his briefcase behind. "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked, pointing to it.

"Well, we don't want a sample," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We want to buy it. The years worth of it. Right now, if possible. The sooner we can make money, the better."

"We only have about half a years worth available at the moment," Ivy stated.

"That's not a problem. I can give you half the money now and the other half when you develop the rest." He flashed a bright smile. "We're patient men."

Ivy eyed him curiously. "Give me an hour and I can have it for you along with a contract and a sit down with my lawyer.

"I will call him and let him know. Thank you so much." He shook their hands once more before leaving the room.

"I did not expect that," Alisa said, grabbing the left behind briefcase.

"Congratulations, Dr. Adams," Ivy said turning to her. "You're officially a millionaire."

The realization settled in and Alisa smiled from ear to ear. "It sounds way too good to be true."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Tired already?" Barbara asked as she watched Damian bend over, his hands on his knees. "I haven't even broken a sweat."

"No," he said straightening up. "One more round."

The alarm on the computer system went off. Barbara walked over to it. It displayed information about Cluemaster.

"The wannabe Riddler," Damian said as he walked over, looking up at the screen. "Is he what you're working on?"

"Sort of," Barbara said, typing into the computer. "What do you know about Spoiler?"

"Is... is that a person?"

"So nothing," Barbara said. "When I was fighting Cluemaster's goons and injured my shoulder, she showed up at the scene and... saved me." She turned to Damian. "I'm also pretty sure she's the one who sent me the tip."

"At the very least, we know she's a good guy."

"I thought maybe she's someone he knows like a daughter or a niece because she seems very young and he's the only person whose plans she likes to spoil but he has no family in the system and he's never even been married."

Barbara stood there thinking. What else didn't she check? "The visitor's log," she said, turning to the computer. She began typing. "The prison switched from paper to digital last year."

"So whoever this mystery girl is, she likely would've visited him before he was released."

"Does the name Stephanie Brown ring a bell?" Barbara asked. "She's the only person who's visited him in the last year."

"She's a friend and classmate of my girlfriends at Gotham Academy," Damian responded. "We hung out once and she mentioned her father being in prison but I didn't think her father was Cluemaster."

Barbara's phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up. "Speaking of the devil, he's about to hit Gotham City Bank."

"Twice in less than a week? That doesn't make any sense."

"It is Cluemaster we're talking about."

"Maybe his daughter will show up again."

"Well, let's go find out," Barbara said, a smirk on her face. "It's been a while since Batgirl and Robin teamed up."

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'll patrol the outside," Robin said as he and Batgirl arrived in a back lot at Gotham City Bank on her batcycle. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

Batgirl nodded before bypassing the encryption on the doors and entering the bank but something was off. It was too quiet almost as if a robbery wasn't taking place at all.

"Something doesn't feel right." She watched a man sweeping the floor. "There's no one here besides the janitor."

"Nothing outside either."

Batgirl got closer to the janitor. "It's a trap," she said as the man dropped the broom. He pulled out a pistol began shooting it at her.

She hid behind the counter. "I'm gonna draw them-" The gunshots stopped. She peaked over the counter when she heard a loud thud and saw Spoiler standing over the goon.

Spoiler looked up at Batgirl. "I didn't know it was a trap."

"I know who you are."

"Then you know why I'm doing this," Spoiler replied.

Barbara nodded. "I do."

~~~~~~~~~~

Batgirl and Spoiler ran outside to where Robin had beaten Cluemaster's goons.

"Piece of cake." Just then, a dart struck Robin in the neck. "Batgirl," he began as his knees got weaker. "I can't- I can't feel my-" Robin collapsed to the ground.

"No," Batgirl yelled as she raced over to him. "No, no this can't be happening."

"Batgirl."

When Batgirl turned to Spoiler, Cluemaster had her in a chokehold. He put a tranquilizer dart in her neck and placed her over his shoulder. Spoiler tried her best to fight him off but she became weaker and stopped fighting altogether.

"Thank you for playing my game, _Batgirl_ ," Cluemaster said before disappearing around a dark corner.

"Go," Robin said. "You can't let him get her."

"If I leave you, you'll die."

"Robin coughed up blood. "I'll be okay. Go."

"I can't," Batgirl said, through the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "I'm sorry." She leaned her head on his chest. "I'm so sorry."

"Batgirl," a familiar voice said.

Batgirl looked up and saw Ivy standing over her.

"He was poisoned," she said. "I can help him but you need to find Cluemaster or he'll try to kill the girl too."

"Go," Robin said. "Go save the her."

Batgirl looked down at Robin and then back at Ivy. "Promise me he'll be okay."

"I promise." Ivy reached a hand out to Batgirl and helped her up. "He'll be okay." She watched as she mounted her batcycle and drove off.

Robin coughed up more blood. "I don't want to die."

"You won't," Ivy stated.

"I can feel everything and nothing at the same time."

"I've been there." Ivy scooped him up in her arms and carried him to her car. "I'm gonna drive you to my house where I can administer the antidote. You can recover there."

"Selina said you can't drive."

"Selina's an idiot."

~~~~~~~~~~

"As much as I would love to give you a slow, painful death, I have places to be and things to steal so this is gonna have to be quick."

Spoiler tried freeing herself from the restraints on the chair. "Screw you," she spat. "I hate you."

Cluemaster got close to her face. "You don't even know me."

"I thought I did."

Cluemaster walked over and picked up the bucket of acid off the ground. "Any last words?"

"Wait."

Cluemaster turned to see Batgirl standing at the doorway. "That wasn't a question for you, Bats. It was for her and how did you even find this place?"

"I have my ways," Batgirl said as she cautiously moved forward. "Don't you wanna know who she is?"

"No. It's a mystery that'll be way more fun to solve when she's dead." He motioned to pour the acid on her.

"Daddy, it's me," Spoiler cried out. "Please don't do this."

"What?" Cluemaster sat the bucket down and pulled off her mask. "Stephanie?" He got down on his knees in front of her, untying her from the chair. "B- but why?"

"You promised me that you were going to change and I believed you," Stephanie began. "Then I followed you here and I overheard you planning a robbery at the bank." She looked up at Batgirl. "That's when I sent you the tip."

"Then you saved me. Thanks, by the way."

"I'm so so sorry, sweet pea." Cluemaster stood up. "I never wanted to hurt you. I only wanted to give you the life you deserve."

Tears spilled down Stephanie's face. "The life I deserve is the one where my father isn't in and out of prison but home with me and he's happy." She stood up and brushed past him. "I was so stupid to believe I could ever have that."

Batgirl pulled out a pair of cuffs and arrested him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy was lying on her bed watching TV when she heard footsteps in the hallway.

"Ivy," Barbara whispered. "You awake?"

"Yeah," Ivy said.

"Damian is knocked out cold," Barbara chuckled as she walked into the room.

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better now that I know he's okay."

Ivy pulled back the covers. Barbara kicked off her shoes and snuggled up next to Ivy, laying her head on her chest. For Ivy, the intimacy between them was still new and slightly unsettling but it was something she wanted to get used to.

"How did you find me?" Barbara asked, breaking the silence.

"Would you believe me if I said it was a happy coincidence? I saw you and Damian ride past Joey's on your bike. Luckily for him, I decided to follow you."

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"Because I know myself and I would've done a lot more than just stop him. Plus, making sure that tiresome child lived was more important."

Barbara sat up and propped herself up on her elbow. "I love you."

"What?"

"I love you but you don't have to say it back. I mean, I would like for you to say it when you're ready to, of course, but you don't have to just because I said it."

Ivy placed a hand on Barbara's cheek, a content smile on her face as she gently ran her thumb along the redhead's cheek. She pulled her in for a kiss on the forehead.

Barbara laid her head on Ivy's chest once more. "I know today has taken it's emotional toll on me," she said, a yawn escaping her, "but the one thing I know for sure is how I feel about you."

"Tell me again."

Barbara snuggled closer to Ivy, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I _love_ you, Dr. Pamela Isley."

Ivy smiled from ear to ear at the words, despite her inability to respond with the same. She wrapped her arms around Barbara and they fell into a deep slumber.

~~~~~~~~~~

Damian rubbed his eyes as he stumbled into the kitchen where he saw Ivy standing over a stove flipping french toast in a pan.

"Good morning, Damian," Ivy said without turning around.

"Good morning," Damian responded, his brows furrowed as he sat in a chair at the kitchen island. "Never thought I'd see Poison Ivy in the kitchen cooking breakfast."

"And I never thought I'd let Bruce Wayne's son spend the night at my house and willingly cook said breakfast for him but I suppose life is funny that way."

"I suppose," Damian said.

Barbara walked into the kitchen wearing a green robe with red roses on them. "Mmmm that smells amazing." She gave Ivy a peck on the lips before turning to Damian.

Damian scrunched up his face. "I never want to see that again."

Barbara shook her head. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm going to vomit."

"Not because we kissed," she said, plucking him on the hand.

"Ouch. Well, in that case, I feel fine."

Barbara sat next to him. "You know you can never tell your dad about this, right? He'll never forgive me for almost getting you killed."

"This is Batman we're talking about. He probably already knows. Besides, he won't be back in town until next week and my lips are sealed."

Ivy placed food in front of them both. "Enjoy."

"Thanks, babe," Barbara said before digging into her plate.

Damian picked as his food. "I prefer the crusts taken off of my bread before it's battered in eggs and cinnamon."

"You can take them off yourself," Ivy said.

He crossed his arms. "Alfred doesn't talk back to me."

"Do I look like your maid?"

Damian glared at her for a long minute. "Did you two sleep together?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Technically speaking," Barbara began, "we did sleep together, we just didn't _sleep_ together but it's not any of your business."

"And it's not something I feel comfortable discussing with a teenage boy," Ivy said, visibly uncomfortable. "Why do you want to know anyway?"

"I don't, really," Damian smirked. "I just wanted to see you squirm. Can't wait til we're out on patrol together and I can annoy you as much as I want and you can't really do anything about it."

"Patrol together?" Barbara turned to Ivy. "What's he talking about?"

Ivy sighed. "I made Bruce a deal that I'd go out on patrol once a month until the new building is ready since he's letting me use Wayne Enterprises to develop more of the formula."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Honestly, I didn't remember that part of the deal until just now."

"Aww. I get to patrol the city with my incredibly smart, incredibly hot girlfriend."

Damian turned to Ivy. "You might love her now but you're going to hate patrolling with her. I don't recommend it."

Barbara scoffed. "I am a joy to work with."

" _Highly_ debatable."

"He's kind of right," Ivy chimed in. "We did work together for a few months during my short-lived stint with the Birds of Prey. You weren't much of a joy then."

Barbara raised an eyebrow. "Need I remind you how that stint ended?"

"Fair enough," Ivy said. She kissed Barbara on the cheek.

Damian picked up his plate and walked toward the door. "Thank you, Ivy," he said. "It wasn't on my list of top 100 things I've eaten but it was... edible."

Barbara snorted.

"You're _so_ lucky," Ivy said, glaring at him as he turned the corner. "He is a _lot_ to handle."

"You get used to it," Barbara said.

~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie walked through the doors of the library, a duffle bag on her shoulder as she looked around. It was empty as far as she could tell. "Hello?"

Barbara stepped out from behind a bookcase. "Hey."

"Umm. I'm Stephanie. Batgirl told me to come here and talk to you."

"Follow me."

Stephanie followed Barbara into what looked like an ordinary janitors closet. "Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see." Barbara locked the door behind them. She then moved her face toward a retinal scanner.

Stephanie furrowed her brows as they started going downward but then her eyes went wide when she realized what was happening. "Holy... fucking... shit."

"I'm Batgirl," Barbara said in her best Batman impression.

"You're fucking Batgirl."

Barbara turned to her. "That's a... weird sentence."

The floor stopped moving and the door opened up. Stephanie's jaw dropped when she laid her sights on the cave.

Barbara opened her arms and spun around. "Welcome to the Batgirl cave."

"This is amazing," Stephanie said as she ran her fingers along the keyboard of the computer. She turned to Barbara. "Why are you revealing yourself to me and showing me all this?"

"You've got a gift, Stephanie. I can help you put it to good use if you want."

"Me working with you? Hell yes."

"Easy on the language. You're like what, 15?"

"17," Stephanie corrected, "and a Junior in high school. What are you, like 30?"

"25."

"Still _very_ close to 30," Stephanie smirked.

"Whatever. Look, I know your father has put you through a great ordeal this past week but I think we could work well together."

"I'm in."

"Just like that?"

"You really think I'd refuse an opportunity like this? Who knows, maybe when you're old and grey I'll take your place Batgirl."

"Good luck with that," Barbara chuckled.

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"You're the commissioners daughter and your alter ego works with the GCPD a lot. On top of that, you have red hair." Stephanie laughed. "You being Batgirl is so obvious yet too obvious it's easy to wave it off. That's clever."

"It is," Barbara smugly smiled.

"So wait, who's Batman? And who's Robin? Ugh. I bet he's cute under that mask."

"I'm not really at liberty to reveal their identities to you. Also, eww. Anyway, there will be rules if we're going to be working together."

Stephanie raised a questioning brow. "Like what?"

"Rule #1, School comes first. No patrolling until homework is finished and yes, I will check."

"Easy peasy."

"Rule #2, no going out on missions alone because you're still a kid and if anything bad happened to you, I couldn't live with myself."

"Not a kid but sure."

"Rule #3, no eating my food."

"I can't promise you that."

Barbara squinted at her. "Rule #4, no revealing to anyone you're a vigilante."

"Not even my mom?"

"Not even your mom."

"Got it."

"Rule # 5, curfew is at 9pm unless you're out patrolling with me."

"I live with my mother," Stephanie said. "You wouldn't know if I-"

Barbara raised an eyebrow.

Stephanie slumped her shoulders. "Right. You're Batgirl."

"Rule #6, well it's not really a rule but if you ever need anything from advice to a place to stay, I'm always here. Not here in the cave but figuratively."

"Thank you, Barbara. I really appreciate it."

Barbara walked over to the empty glass case next to where her suit was. "More rules will be implemented when I come up with them but in the meantime, this space is for your suit."

"I do have _one_ request."

"What is it?"

"A new suit," Stephanie replied. "As much fun as I had making this one," she said, patting her bag, "It's not exactly the most durable but I do love the look of it."

"More durable suit with the same look. Got it."

Stephanie dropped her bag and hugged Barbara. "You're the best."

Barbara wrapped her arms around her. "I know," she smiled.


	10. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler and Robin get into a fight with each other.
> 
> Barbara and Ivy talk about past events in an attempt to move forward in their relationship. They go on a date and Ivy finally confesses her feelings for Barbara which leads to them having sex for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Explicit sexual content at the end. Feel free to skip if you aren't comfortable!

Selina sat on the couch painting her nails while Ivy paced around the living room talking on the phone.

"Yes, that is correct. Construction on the new building will begin the second week of January... because Christmas is in less than a week..."

There was a knock on the door and Ivy opened it. 

"Hey, babe," Barbara said.

"Hi," Ivy mouthed. She gave her a quick kiss before continuing on the phone. "We're still on schedule for a September opening..."

"Hey," Barbara said to Selina.

"Hey," Selina replied, her attention still focused on painting her nails.

"Yes, we are partners, Alisa, but this is the best case scenario... I agree, I should've told you but you're already on vacation with your daughter and I didn't want to interrupt that... I did..." Ivy walked into the kitchen.

Barbara sat down next to Selina.

Selina sighed. "Can you paint my right hand? I asked Ivy but she's blah blah blahing on the phone."

"It sounds important," Barbara said as she took the red nail polish and began painting Selina's nails.

Selina eyed Barbara curiously. "Did you two have sex yet?"

"What's it to you?"

"Well, Ivy is my best friend and I feel responsible for making sure she has an A++ sex life while she's here in Gotham. At least when she's in Coney I know she has Harley."

Barbara squinted at Selina. She had convinced herself she wasn't jealous of Ivy's relationship with Harley, which she wasn't, but that was only because Ivy was staying in Gotham. She rarely went to Coney but when she did, she was always with Harley. Always...

"Earth to Babs," Selina said, snapping her fingers in front of Barbara's face.

Barbara finished the last nail. "Umm... what was the question?"

"Have you two had sex yet?"

"Don't answer that," Ivy said as she walked back into the living room.

"I take that as a no," Selina said as she stood up. She sat the nail polish on the table and disappeared down the hallway.

"Hi, honey," Ivy said as she sat down on the couch. She cupped Barbara's face and planted a soft, lingering kiss on her lips.

"Mmmm." Barbara positioned herself so that she was was straddling Ivy's thighs. "Hi."

"What are you doing here so early?" Ivy asked, her hands trailing down Barbara's side to rest on the redhead's hips.

"Christmas is in a few days and I'm terrible at buying presents for people so I came to ask what you wanted."

Ivy thought about it for a moment. As far as material things, she had everything she ever wanted. "I don't know."

"I'm bad at buying gifts, you're bad at knowing what you want." Barbara leaned down, her face buried in Ivy's neck. "We're the worst two people at Christmas."

"The worst people at Christmas are corporations whose advertisements dupe people into believing that being broke is a great payoff for someone else's happiness."

"I- yeah them too."

"What are your plans for Christmas?"

Barbara sat up and shrugged. "I have no idea. You?"

"I did sell the formula to four more buyers but everyone is on vacation so I thought I'd go on one too."

"To where?"

"Somewhere hot because I hate the cold."

"Normally, I'd spend Christmas with my dad but we haven't really been speaking lately."

"I get it. If I spent my childs entire life trying to keep them away from harm and they suddenly started dating one of my enemies, I'd be upset too."

"I've actually been thinking about that a lot," Barbara said, biting her lip.

"What?"

"Us... our relationship," Barbara responded. She turned her attention to Ivy's hair and placed loose strands behind her ear. "We've been through a lot, Ivy, and I think before we get _too_ serious we should maybe go to therapy."

"Or we could talk about it with each other."

Barbara looked down at her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm not too fond of therapy so it can't hurt."

"Okay," Barbara said. "I'll start." She took a deep breath. "When you tried to kill us that was... the worst thing you've ever done to me. We weren't friends but I was one of the only people that was on your side. I believed in your cause. Not the killing part but the wanting the world to be better, for people to do better. I thought I saved you that day but then you... did what you did... and I realized I couldn't even save my friends.

"That was the only time I truly felt like a failure and the reason I left the Birds of Prey and stopped working with Batman. I had to prove to myself that I could save people. That I could do it alone because being apart of something made it hard to believe that I, me, Batgirl could save the world... from you."

"I'm sorry," Ivy said, her voice barely a whisper.

Barbara placed a gentle finger under Ivy's chin. "I know."

"You left the Birds of Prey because of me. You stopped working with Batman because of me." Ivy felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't look Barbara directly in her eyes so she decided to stare at the couch cushion. "How can you still love me after all of that, Barbara? I hurt you."

Barbara lifted Ivy's chin so the older woman looked at her and understood what she was trying to say. She wiped the tears away. "I know."

"I don't ever want to do that again."

"I know," Barbara smiled. "You want to change. You want to find better ways to help the Green. _That_ is a little thing I like to call growth and one of the main reasons I do love you."

Ivy pulled Barbara in for a kiss that conveyed every deep emotion she felt about her in that moment but most importantly, it conveyed the love she felt so deep in her heart. Despite everything they've been through, Barbara chose _her_. She chose to love _her_ and Ivy never wanted to take that for granted.

Barbara broke the kiss when she saw Selina standing in the doorway with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Don't mind me," Selina said. "Just pretend I'm not here."

"Go away, Selina," Ivy said without turning around.

Selina rolled her eyes. "Prudes." She turned back down the hallway.

"She's really invested in your sex life," Barbara chuckled.

"She just likes being a pain in my ass."

"I mean, it is a very nice ass." Barbara smirked.

Ivy shook her head. "She's the worst."

"I love you," Barbara said. She gave Ivy one more kiss and removed herself from her lap. "I have to go check on Stephanie. She's in the cave by herself and probably up to something. Plus, I have her new suit."

"How is she?"

"She's been better since her father was arrested but I can tell that she's sad but she uses humor to deflect it."

"She sounds like Helena."

"Sort of, except Steph is funnier."

Ivy stood up and walked toward Barbara. "You know, we never did go out on that date you mentioned in Metropolis. How about we have one tonight around 8pm?"

"I'd love that," Barbara smiled.

"I'll send you the details." Ivy kissed her on the forehead and watched her leave.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Finally you're here," Stephanie said as Barbara walked in. She continued spinning herself in the chair.

"How long have you been doing that?"

Stephanie stopped, her chair facing Barbara. "About an hour."

Barbara held up the thick briefcase and walked over to the girl. "I have your new suit but I advise you not to stand up." She sat the case on the table in front of Stephanie and opened it.

Stephanie closed her eyes. "I'm so dizzy I can't even see anything."

Barbara laughed as she closed the case. "Is that what you've been doing all morning?"

Stephanie opened her eyes. "No. I did some surveillance but I got nothing." She examined Barbara who was smiling down at her phone. "You seem happy."

"Huh? Oh." Barbara put her phone away. "I have a date for the first time in a really, really long time."

"Aww, you found someone to dust the cobwebs off your lady bits."

"First of all, shut up. Second of all, shut up."

"I wanna guess who it is."

Barbara sat in the swivel chair across from her. "Be my guest."

"Is it Nightwing?"

"Been there, done that."

"Is it another hero?"

"No."

"Is it a guy?"

"Nope."

"So it's a _she_ who's _not_ a hero," Stephanie said, rubbing her chin. "So she's a villain?"

"Not... exactly."

"So an anti hero... is it... well no. I was gonna say Catwoman but that doesn't make sense." 

" _Definitely_ not her."

"Harley Quinn? Oh god can you imagine Jokers reaction?"

"Not Harley either but getting warmer."

"Huh. Well the only other person I could think of is Poison Ivy but that doesn't make sense considering you both were in the Birds of Prey and you didn't exactly get along... so I've heard... through the grapevine."

"Well..."

Stephanie gasped. "Oh my God! It is Poison Ivy!"

"Yeah."

"Batgirl and Poison Ivy. Talk about a dynamic duo."

"Enough about me. What are you doing for Christmas?"

"I'm leaving for my grandma's house tomorrow. What about you?"

"I don't know. I might spend it alone."

"Why not with the Queen of Green?"

"I'm thinking about it," Barbara said. She pulled out her phone and began typing.

"How did you and her even become a thing?"

"It just kind of... happened," Barbara said. "I did recently tell her I loved her but maybe it was too soon." She turned to Stephanie. "What if she doesn't love me?"

"In my knowledge of Ivy due to the research I did on all the villains yesterday, she seems like the kind of gal whose actions speak louder than words. Maybe she hasn't verbally said she loves you but she probably has shown you on more than one occasion."

"It's just nice to hear it, you know?"

"Yeah," Stephanie replied. "Hey, how come you never team up with Batwoman?"

"We work together on occasion but she's not exactly the partner type."

"Are you guys friends?"

"Yeah. I mean, we don't talk everyday on the phone about girls and other gossip but we talk."

"Hmm." Stephanie opened the briefcase. "This... is... amazing."

"Try it on," Barbara said.

Stephanie took the suit to the dressing room and changed. When she came back, Barbara was standing at the computer.

"Uplinking now."

"Uplinking what?"

"Everything," Barbara responded. "Heart rate, blood pressure... the whole nine yards."

"Does it tell you what I ate for breakfast, too?"

Barbara turned to her. "Do you want it to?"

"No."

"Now, if you'd stay in the Cave for a night or two I could monitor your stats and the suit's performance in person but since you're an eager beaver, I'll just have to keep recording your vitals on the fly."

"I dunno, I kind of like the mystery of the whole "field test" thing." Stephanie felt the suit. "You didn't happen to drop and iPod jack into this thing yet, did you?"

"I suppose you'll just have to hum. Other than that, It's got all the latest gadgets and it's completely bulletproof but I wouldn't go around testing that theory."

"Thanks, Barbara. You're officially my second favorite person," Stephanie said.

"Who's your first?"

"... my mom."

"That's fair."

~~~~~~~~~~

"You look amazing," Ivy said as she took Barbara's jacket and hung it up on the coat rack. The vigilante was wearing a royal blue mini dress and heels to match.

"You do too," she said as she did her own examining of the form fitting emerald green wrap dress Ivy wore.

Ivy dipped her head and kissed the shorter woman on the lips. She broke the kiss and grabbed Barbara's hand. "Follow me."

Barbara grabbed Ivy's hand and allowed herself to be led into Ivy's bedroom. "You know, when you told me to meet you here for dinner, I was kind of skeptical. I still am, by the way, considering you're leading me into your bedroom."

Ivy chuckled. "Patience, my little dove. My bedroom is the only entrance to where we're going."

Barbara blushed. "And where is that?"

When they entered the room, Ivy led Barbara to her walk-in closet door. She opened and walked inside.

"Your closet?" Barbara asked, confusion laced in her tone.

Ivy pressed a hand to a nearby wall. An elevator door opened up. Once inside, Ivy pressed a button with the letter "G" on it.

"Are we going to Narnia?"

"They went through a wardrobe, not a walk-in closet."

"Same difference."

The elevator door opened and they were met with a view of various plants and flowers inside the greenhouse.

"This is so beautiful," Barbara said as she stepped off the elevator. She ran her fingers along the colorful flowers as she walked by. "I always wondered what it looked like up here."

Ivy smiled. "It's where I come to think."

Barbara turned to her. "Your powers did all this?"

"Some of it."

Barbara made her way over to the glass and gazed out at the view of Gotham City. "Okay, this is officially the best view of the city I've seen. I don't think anything will top this."

Ivy walked up behind Barbara and wrapped her arms around her waist. "I can think of a better view," she said, staring at Barbara's reflection in the mirror.

Barbara turned around, Ivy's arms still around her waist. "Who knew you could be so romantic?"

"I definitely didn't," Ivy smiled down at her. She bent down and pressed her lips to Barbara's for a long, lingering kiss.

Barbara broke the kiss. "As much as I want to stand here kissing you all night, I've worked up an appetite."

"Right this way," Ivy said.

They continued down the path and turned a corner. There was a circle table that had two silver trays with lids covering the food and two chairs positioned at the table. Also sitting on the table was a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses.

Ivy pulled out Barbara's seat for her and the younger redhead sat in it. She then walked around the table to sit in hers.

"Thank you," Barbara said. "It's much warmer up here compared to outside."

"Temperature control is spectacular thing."

"The plants aren't affected by it?"

"Not since I added the formula to the fertilizer." Ivy took the lids off of their plates revealing New York strip steak for Barbara and a usual salad for her. "My babies can survive in any temperature."

Ivy poured them a glass of wine as Barbara began cutting into her steak. "I remember you mentioning your mom having a garden. Is that what sparked your love of plants?" She took a bite of her food and closed her eyes, revelling in how amazing it tasted.

"It was," Ivy said. She couldn't help the tiny smile creeping up on her face as she ate her salad. "I remember her telling me the plants could hear me and if I listened close enough, I could hear them too."

"Now you hear them all the time," Barbara said, a visible sadness on her face as she sipped her wine.

"I do but it's not all bad. Lately, I've been focused on the happiness within the Green."

"Instead of all the sadness."

"Yes," Ivy laughed. "It drove me crazy."

"I don't think you're crazy," Barbara stated. "Hearing voices in your head 24/7 is crazy but not you, necessarily. Does that make sense?"

"It does," Ivy nodded.

"Considering everything you've been doing on the business side of things, did you minor in it?"

"I did," Ivy answered after chewing and swallowing her food. "Plus Caroline, the woman who raised me, knew a lot about business because of her ex-husband so I learned a lot from her too."

"That's really cool," Barbara said

"What made you want to be a vigilante?"

"My dad not wanting me to be one," Barbara laughed. "When I was younger, I loved books. They were my best friends. After my mom left and my dad drowned himself in work, they were all I had." A sad but fond smile was on her face. "I went to college for library science but deep down, I wanted to be a cop like my dad but of course he wasn't going to allow his only daughter to fight criminals like Joker and Riddler.

"Me being the rebellious child I was, I figured out who Batman was and asked him to train me. About a year later, I was given my suit and I finally got out there. My dad had no idea I was a vigilante but when he found out he freaked. Like, really freaked. He thought I was only doing it to defy him, which was half true, but I just wanted people to get the justice they deserved while simultaneously doing something to fill that pesky little hole my mom left when she disappeared." She cut another piece of her steak. " _That_ is the story of why and how I became Batgirl."

"I still remember when we first met," Ivy said.

"Ugh. I was like 20."

"I remember asking who you were and you said-"

""Just a girl who's strong enough and smart enough for anything you throw at me, greenie.""

Ivy laughed. "As a woman, I respected the hell out of you but as an enemy, I couldn't stand you. Funny how life works out."

"It is funny," Barbara agreed.

They continued eating in a comfortable silence. When they finished, they moved their chairs toward the glass, gazing out at the city from where they sat.

Barbara leaned her chair closer to Ivy's and leaned her head on her shoulder and intertwined their fingers. "How has work been coming along?"

"As well as it can be," Ivy said. "I did have to hire a few people since the demand for the formula has risen in the past three weeks."

"I know you're not too fond of humans but I like that you're willing to give them jobs, especially around the holidays."

"I've come to learn that the Green is much greater than my pride," Ivy said. "Being around people is still hard but I'm getting used to it."

Barbara looked up at her. "Do I help you get used to it?" she asked.

Ivy raised their hands. "Yes."

They continued watching the cars fly by as they kept quiet and enjoyed each other's company.

~~~~~~~~~~

Spoiler was on top of a building, looking down at the city from where she stood. She heard footsteps behind her. "You must be Robin," she said, turning to him. "Nice to finally meet you."

Robin crossed his arms and stood in front of her without saying a word.

"Besides a mask, do I have anything on my face you'd like to tell me about? Cause if not, you can stop staring."

"I'm just trying to figure out what makes you tick. You're a bit of a mystery to me. You certainly aren't very skilled in... anything."

Spoiler moved closer to him. "And to think I was about to apologize for what my dad did to you three weeks ago."

"You have no interest in vengeance to speak of. Well, besides locking up your father." He moved closer to her. "Can't tell what good you are to anyone, really. You're just the offspring of a second rate criminal."

Spoiler balled her fist. "I suggest you get out of my face before I punch you in yours you jackass."

"You wouldn't da-" Before he could finish, Spoiler punched him square in the jaw.

He felt his lip and there was blood there. "You're gonna pay for that."

Spoiler punched him again. "How's that for not being skilled at anything?"

An angry Robin got into a fighting stance and they began a battle on the rooftop.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Interesting factoid," Barbara said, breaking the silence. "I have a PhD in Library Science, Dr. Isley, and if I didn't know any better, I'd think you have a thing for women with PhD's."

"What can I say," Ivy grinned, "I love women I can have an intellectual conversation with."

"You do?" Barbara asked, hoping Ivy realized what she just said.

"I do," Ivy answered. "I love you."

"I love you back," Barbara said, the smile on her face growing wider. She leaned in for a kiss but was interrupted by her phone ringing. She pulled it out and looked at the caller I.D. "Helena?" She answered it. "Hello... they were _what_?.." She sighed. "I'm on my way."

"What's the matter?"

"Helena just called," Barbara said. "Steph and Damian were fighting on a rooftop in their suits." She leaned in and gave Ivy a sweet kiss. "I'll be back because I refuse to let the night end like this."

"Okay," Ivy smiled

~~~~~~~~~~

Robin was sitting in a chair across from Stephanie who had her arms crossed. Huntress stood next to the computer, her arms crossed too. The door to the Batgirl cave opened up and Barbara walked in.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you two?"

"Vigilante Barbie," Huntress said, staring at the dress she was wearing. "You look... wow."

"Shut up," Barbara said. She pointed to Stephanie. "You. Start."

Stephanie sank into the chair. "That stupid bird started it."

"She punched me in the face... twice!"

"Why did you punch him, Steph?" Barbara asked. "We don't fight each other, you know that."

"He shouldn't have been running his mouth."

"What did you say?" Huntress asked Robin.

"You're not my mother and I don't have to answer to you," was Robin's answer.

"But you do have to answer to me," Batman said from where he stood at the entrance.

"Holy shit," Stephanie said under her breath. She stood up. "Hell Mr. Batman... sir."

Huntress snickered to herself.

Batman walked over to her. "Nice to finally meet you, Stephanie," he extended a hand.

Stephanie shook his hand, a look of amazement on her face. "Same to you."

"Whatever," Robin said. He got up out of his chair. "I'm ready to go home."

"You need to apologize," Batman said to him. "Now."

"I didn't say anything wrong," Robin argued. He slumped his shoulders when Batman scowled at him. "I'm sorry."

"To her," Barbara said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Robin grunted. He turned to Stephanie who had a smug smile on her face. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"You apologize too," Huntress said to Stephanie. "You did punched him in the face... twice."

Stephanie turned to Barbara because she definitely was not about to listen to someone she didn't know. Barbara nodded. "I'm sorry for punching you in the face."

"Apology accepted," Robin said.

"I should've punched you in the gut," Stephanie mumbled.

"I heard that," Barbara said. "Listen, you two can annoy each other all day long but you're in the same family now. We don't fight each other, we fight the bad guys."

"Exactly," Huntress piped up. "We have to have each other's backs out there. Fighting only makes it harder to do our jobs and makes it easier for the bad guys to win."

A proud smile was on Batman's face. He cleared his throat. "Now that that's settled, I think we should properly introduce ourselves to Stephanie since she is going to be working with us." He took his mask off and revealed himself.

Stephanie gasped. "Bruce frickin Wayne? It makes so much sense now cause you're filthy rich."

Huntress took off her mask. "Helena Bertinelli."

Stephanie's eyes went wide. "You absolutely have to teach me how to use that crossbow."

Robin huffed. He then removed his mask.

" _You_ ," Stephanie said through gritted teeth. "Damian. Wayne."

Bruce turned to Stephanie. "None of this leaves this room. Understood?"

Stephanie saluted him. "Yes, sir."

"Calling me sir isn't necessary. Bruce is fine."

"Yes sir, Bruce."

Barbara clapped her hands. "Since that's over, I can go back to my date and everybody else can go back to their regularly scheduled programs."

"You came from a date?" Helena asked. "With who?"

"Poison Ivy," Stephanie and Damian said simultaneously.

"Come on, Stephanie," Bruce said. "I'll take you to the Batcave if it's okay with you," he asked to Barbara.

"She can go."

"Yes!"

Bruce, Damian and Stephanie left Barbara and Helena in the cave.

"So," Helena said, leaning against the table with a smirk on her face. "Poison Ivy, huh?"

"Are you gonna try to lecture me like almost everyone else who knows?"

"Nope," Helena replied. "No judgement from me."

"Good," Barbara said walking toward the door, "Cause I'm leaving."

"Have fun on your date," she yelled. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Fingers crossed I get to do exactly that," Barbara said with a wink and finger guns. She stopped in her tracks. "Ew. That was... ew."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ivy swung the door open. "Remind me to give you a key," she said when she saw Barbara leaning against the door frame.

"It's freezing out here," Barbara said. "How about you invite me in and we can warm up together?"

Ivy furrowed her brows, a hint of a smile on her face. She pulled her into the house and closed the door. "What are you doing?"

"Foreplay," Barbara said, shrugging off her jacket.

"Am I supposed to know... what that is?"

Barbara cupped Ivy's’s face. "You pure soul," she laughed. "It's like playing a game before you have sex."

Ivy raised an eyebrow. "Oh."

"If you want to... have sex."

Ivy took Barbara's glasses off and sat them on the coffee table. She then placed a hand on the back of Barbara’s neck, their lips meeting in a heated kiss. When he picked Barbara up, Barbara wrapped her legs around Ivy's waist and allowed herself to be taken into the bedroom, never once disengaging their lips.

Ivy set Barbara down on the bed. Barbara propped herself on her elbows and watched as Ivy stood in front of her, waiting for an invitation. She reached out a hand and pulled Ivy closer.

Ivy crawled on top of Barbara, sitting on the redhead's abdomen and pulling her shirt off. She tossed it to the floor and placed both hands on either side of Barbara's’s head, losing herself in the green orbs below her.

"I love you, Barbara."

"I love you too, Ivy."

Ivy's gaze shifted to the younger woman's lips as she licked her own in anticipation. She latched her mouth onto Barbara’s, moaning into her mouth as their tongues pressed and moved against each other’s.

Barbara flipped their positions because Ivy was going way too slow for her taste. She grinded herself down into the woman below her.

A gasp escaped past Ivy’s lips. “Barbara,” she moaned. Her hands found their way to Barbara's ass. She squeezed her plump bottom before finding the hem of her dress. She pulled it off in one fell swoop, exposing pert nipples.

"You're so beautiful," Ivy whispered, massaging Barbara's breast.

"Mmmm," Barbara responded as she licked and nipped at Ivy's neck.

Ivy flipped their position. She stood up in front of Barbara and took her bra off. She sauntered over to the bed and dropped to her knees.

Ivy undid Barbara's heels and pulled them off. She peppered kisses up Barbara's legs to her abdomen. She slid her tongue along the spot just above Barbara's panty line.

Barbara bit her lip. "Ivy," she moaned.

Ivy pulled the panties down the redhead’s toned legs and and threw them across the room. She left a trail of kisses on the inside of Barbara's thigh. She then stood up and pulled her own panties off before she climbed back on the bed and positioned herself between Barbara’s legs. She bent down and latched onto her neck, sucking at her pulse point.

Barbara wrapped her legs around Ivy’s waist. She closed her eyes as electricity and ecstasy flowed through her body, moaning as Ivy’s warm, wet tongue assaulted her neck.

Ivy kissed down Barbara's chest all the way to her nipples. She swirled her tongue, nipping and biting at an erect nipple. She released it with a pop before moving to the other, sucking and bitting at it while grinding harder into Barbara.

“Ivy,” Barbara moaned again. "You're tongue feels so damn good."

Ivy made her way back to her neck. “Tell me what you want, Barbara,” she mumbled into the woman’s neck, basking in the familiar scent of the redhead's hair.

“I want you to fuck me.”

Ivy hovered over her, holding her gaze, a smirk on her face as her hand trailed down Barbara's taut abdomen to her throbbing cunt.

Barbara gasped when Ivy's hand made contact with her slick folds.

"Is this what you want?" Ivy asked, rubbing tight, slow circles around the hardened nub, eliciting a soft moan.

"Yes," Barbara breathed out. She held onto Ivy’s neck like a lifeline. "Fuck," she whispered. There were times she dreamed about this moment, dreamt about what Ivy's fingers felt like and now that she felt it, the sensation was almost too much. She could already felt herself on the brink of an orgasm.

“Ivy, please." She cupped Ivy's face. "I want you inside of me."

Ivy placed her index finger at Barbara’s entrance and pushed it slowly inside.

Barbara gasped at the intrusion and held Ivy closer. "Fuuckkk."

Ivy slid another finger inside and cork-screwed them into Barbara’s cunt, curling them in a come-hither motion and repeating the act over and over again.

"Ivy... fuccckkkk... please..." Barbara felt her breath catch in her throat as Ivy quickened the pace, repeatedly hitting that sweet spot. Ivy looked down at Barbara lifted and noticed she was holding her breath.

“Breathe, Barbara,” Ivy chuckled. She slowed her pace, allowing Barbara to catch her breath.

“Fuck me, Ivy,” she breathed out. She brought Ivys’s face to her own. “Hard and fast.”

Ivy thrust her fingers into Barbara just as she was instructed: Hard and fast.

“Ohhhh myyy godddd.” Barbara’s eyes rolled shut, marveling in the pleasure of being fucked for the first time in a long time.

“No,” Ivy said as her thrusts slowed down. “Don’t take your eyes off me.”

Barbara opened her eyes and nodded quickly, her moans getting louder by the minute as Ivy quickened her pace again. “You... ungh… fuuuck… ohhh god…”

"I want you to cum for me," Ivy responded with that stupid, smug smirk as she felt Barbara’s walls clench around her fingers.

Barbara brought Ivys’s forehead to hers. "I'm gonna...” The orgasm hit her hard. Her hips bucked uncontrollably as she held onto Ivy's face.

Ivy once again slowed the pace of her fingers, guiding Barbara through her orgasm. She removed them from Barbara’s gushing cunt and sucked the sweet juices off her fingers.

"I love the way you taste," Ivy said, her voice low and sultry. She slid down her body and lifted Barbara’s left leg, placing it over her shoulder. She leaned forward, lapping up the slick juices and eliciting a loud moan from the woman below her.

"Ohhh fucckk." Barbara grabbed a fistful of red hair as Ivy’s tongue slithered into her entrance. “Shiittt.”

Ivy fucked her with her tongue for a long minute. She then sucked and licked at the hardened nub until Barbara’s orgasms washed over her three more times.

When Barbara came down from her high, she pulled Ivy in for a heated, sloppy kiss. Their teeth clashed and a hungry moan escaped her lips as she tasted herself on the older woman. Her tongue slid across Ivy’s bottom lip and she bit down on it, causing the redhead to grunt in response.

"Fuck, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ivy assured her. She could taste a small amount of blood on her bottom lip. She licked it away and nipped at Barbara’s with no real intention of drawing blood. They came up for air every so often, licking, sucking and nipping at the others lips.

"I wanna taste you," Barbara said.

Ivy got off Barbara and laid on the bed. Barbara climbed over her and slithered down her body. She swirled her tongue and lightly grazed Ivy’s inner thighs with her teeth, smiling when Ivy gripped a handful of her hair.

"You're such a tease," Ivy breathed out. She kept her hand there as Barbara continued biting and sucking her inner thigh.

Barbara teased her tongue at Ivy’s entrance. "Mmmm," she moaned, "You taste like the sweetest berries." She flattened her tongue and licked Ivy’s folds at an agonizingly slow pace. Feeling the grip on her hair tighten, she watched as Ivy’s back slightly arched off the bed.

"Barbara," Ivy moaned. "Please." She opened her eyes and stared down at Barbara, the sight of the woman between her legs almost being enough to make her cum on the spot.

“Please what?”

“Are you trying to make me beg?”

"Maybe," Barbara smirked.

"I hate you." Ivy watched intently as Barbara lifted her left leg over her shoulder.

Barbara placed sloppy kisses on Ivy’s glistening pussy. Ivy bucked her hips forward, feeling herself come closer to orgasmic bliss despite Barbara doing the bare minimum.

Barbara slid her middle finger inside, going in and out at the slowest pace possible. “You’re so wet for me, Ivy.”

Ivy threw her head back, her eyes fluttering as they closed. “Barbara..."

"Yes, my love?"

"I need you," Ivy pleaded.

Those were the magic words. Barbara pushed her index finger inside, going slow at first and then quickening the pace.

“Just like that, Barbara." Ivy arched her back, her body shuddering as her orgasm ripped through her.

Barbara slowed her pace, allowing Ivy to come down from her high before continuing at a quicker pace. She made Ivy cum for a second time before replacing her fingers and engineering two more orgasms with her tongue.

Barbara cleaned the slick juices off of Ivy before moving to lay next to her. "Can you believe it's been a year and a half since I had sex?"

"Yes," Ivy laughed.

Barbara narrowed her eyes at Ivy. "Shut up."

Ivy turned to her, laying on her side. "I wasn't really expecting... this," she said, motioning between their naked bodies.

Barbara turned her head. "I wasn't either but I'm not complaining," she smirked.

Ivy pushed a strand of hair behind Barbara's ear. "It was amazing."

Barbara turned on her side, wrapping an arm around Ivy and moving closer. "Do you think we're moving too fast?"

Ivy moved closer to Barbara. "By who's standards?"

"Normal standards, I guess."

"No," Ivy said, shaking her head. "I mean, we've technically been together since Metropolis, which was a while ago. I think tonight was right on schedule." She kissed Barbara on the lips. "I've been thinking all day about vacation and I want to go to Australia... with you."

"Australia?" Barbara asked, her brows furrowed. "They have so many deadly animals."

"They can't kill me or you," Ivy reminder her. "I want to visit the wildlife park in Gold Coast."

"If there's one thing I'm afraid of it's being in foreign places with deadly, foreign animals."

"It could be fun," Ivy said. "When's the last time you left Gotham for vacation?"

"Never," she sighed. "I'll think about it."

Ivy climbed on top of her. "Well, while you're thinking about it, I think I'm ready for another round."

"I just realized we had sex on the first date," Barbara chuckled. "Wow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you all know by now, this fic isn't 100% comic accurate. Some of the stuff I write is pulled directly from the comics with a small twist so if something isn't as you read it in the comics, that's why. It's just a mix of different stories including ones that I come up with as the story goes along. Just wanted to make that clear.


	11. Adventures In Australia PART ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara has a heart to heart with Jim. Ivy and Barbara enjoy their first night in Australia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Explicit sexual content at the end. Feel free to skip if you aren't comfortable!

Stephanie tilted her head, staring at the Robin suits in their case. "If the other cases are for current hero suits, I'm assuming these are for retired ones."

"Something like that," Bruce answered.

"Jeez, how many different Robins were there?" Stephanie asked.

"Three," Damian answered, standing next to her.

Stephanie turned to him. "What were their names?"

"Well, you already know me. Then there's Dick Grayson, also known as Nightwing." Damian pointed to one of the suits. "That one's his."

"Who wore that one?" she asked, pointing to the other suit.

"Jason," Bruce replied from behind them. "Jason Todd."

"He was Robin for a few years before Joker killed him," Damian said.

Alfred walked into the cave with a tray in his hands. "Master Bruce, dinner is ready."

"Thank you, Alfred," Bruce said.

Stephanie walked over to Alfred and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm-"

"Stephanie Brown also known as Spoiler," Alfred said as he shook her hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope," she nervously laughed.

"Indeed. My name is Alfred Pennyworth."

"Are you his Batman's man behind the scenes?"

"Amongst other things," Alfred smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Brown."

"Ms. Brown is my mother, you can just call me Stephanie or Steph."

"Noted. I have prepared dinner upstairs, I'm sure Master Bruce would love for you to stay."

"I don't... wanna impose on family dinner."

"Nonsense," Alfred said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "You're apart of this family now."

"She's not my family," Damian muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara was inside of her office at the library catching up on paperwork she needed to finish when Helena knocked on the open door.

"Knock knock," Helena said.

Barbara looked up at her, fixing the glasses on her face. "Hey."

"That Stephanie is a natural born scrapper," she said. "She kind of reminds me of ... well, me."

"Yeah she's pretty amazing."

"You know what's funny? Her and Damian weren't really fighting. I mean, she did deck him twice but they were just sparring, trying to get the best of each other."

"Reminds me of us way back when," Barbara smiled.

"Soooo," Helena said, raising an eye brow as she leaned against the door. "How did it go last night?"

"It... was... fireworks," Barbara said excitedly. She stood up from her chair and started toward Helena. "We did it like three times last night and twice this morning." She sighed. "Honestly, it's the best sex I've ever had."

"Isn't that what you said about Dick?"

"No, that's what _you_ said about Roy."

"Huh. Oh yeah." Helena waved her off. "That was years ago."

Barbara hugged Helena tight. "It's so good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, Babs"

"So," Barbara said, leaning against her desk. "What brings you back to Gotham?"

"I just came to check up on everyone. Plus, Alfred insists I spend Christmas here."

"Are you?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Barbara nodded. "I miss you guys so much."

"We miss you too," Helena smiled. "What are your plans for Christmas?"

"I don't know. Ivy wants to go to Australia."

"You... in Australia?" Helena let out a hearty laugh.

"That's what I said," Barbara replied. "It's terrifying."

"It's hilarious is what it is. The most fearless person I know is afraid of wildlife."

"Shut up," Barbara said. She sighed. "It's not just that though. Batgirl can't leave Gotham."

"You've left Gotham before."

"Not for vacation. It was always been for vigilante stuff."

"I think you should go."

"You hate Ivy."

"I don't _hate_ her. I just have a very strong dislike of her but you're my best friend and you like here so I think you should go."

"I love her, actually."

Helena raised a questioning brown. "Okay. You _love_ her so go on vacation, have the best sex of your life and enjoy all the great things Australia has to offer." She put her hands on Barbara's shoulders and shook her. "Gotham will still be here when you get back."

Barbara tilted her head with a smile. "You always know what to say."

"Of course. I'm a genius."

"...Debatable."

"Screw you," Helena smiled.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. There's this thing that Ivy does with her fingers where she-"

Helena held a finger to Barbara's lips. "I don't need to know _all_ the details," she said. "Save some for when you see Dinah again but what you should do is call up Queen Ivy of House Green and tell her you're going on that trip."

"But-"

"No buts. Take out your phone and call her now."

"God, you're so bossy." Barbara pulled out her phone and dialed Ivy's number. "I'm gonna face time her."

"Hey sweetie," Ivy answered.

"Hi," Barbara said, her face getting hot when she realized Ivy was in her bra and panties. "I was just calling to let you know that I'm taking you up on your offer to vacation in the Gold Coast."

"Great," Ivy replied enthusiastically. "I already have a plane and we'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

"Oh. Shit. Well, I guess I have to pack," Barbara said.

"You could spend the night at my place tonight," Ivy said.

Barbara bit her lip before saying, "Okay. I'll see you tonight."

Helena contorted her face in disgust. "Ew."

"Hello, Helena," Ivy said.

Helena took the phone from Barbara. "Don't "Hello, Helena" me," she said, her eyes narrowed.

"But I missed you," Ivy said, tilting her head. "You were always my favorite."

Helena raised a brow. "Really?"

"No," Ivy deadpanned.

"Fucker," Helena said before ending the call.

"You two are _so_ adorable," Barbara laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara opened the door to her apartment. She saw her father sitting on the couch with his hands clasped together, as if he'd been going over in his head what to say to her when she walked in.

"Hey," Barbara said as she closed the door. "Are you finally talking to me?"

Jim shook his head. "Did I fail at being a good father?"

"Really, dad? You're trying to guilt trip me?"

"No," Jim said honestly. "I just want to know."

"You think you failed me because of Ivy?"

"Not just her. I've been thinking about a lot of things these past few weeks." He patted the seat next to him and Barbara sat down. "When your mother left with JJ, my number one goal was to protect you... then you became a vigilante."

"I didn't become a vigilante because you failed to protect me." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I became a vigilante because you succeeded. I learned how to protect myself and because of that, I wanted to protect the city because you also taught me the value of justice," she smiled.

Jim turned his head to Barbara. "How will you protect yourself from Ivy?"

"She already protected me from herself," Barbara said. "I took the serum."

"That won't stop her from strangling you with a vine if she gets too angry."

"She won't," Barbara assured him. She sighed. "I know it might sound crazy to you but... she loves me, dad. I love her too."

"You _really_ love her?"

Barbara nodded, a fond smile on her face. "I do."

Jim held a hand to Barbara's face, gently stroking her cheek. "As long as she doesn't take that smile away, I think I can live with you two being together."

Barbara wrapped her arms around Jim. "I love you, dad."

"I love you, too." Jim stood up heading for the door. "I'll see you."

Barbara jumped up. "Oh. Hold on a second." She disappeared into the back and then returned with a large box with Santa Claus wrapping paper around it. "I won't be here for Christmas so I wanted to give you your present before I left."

"Where are you going?" Jim asked as he shook the box.

"The Gold Coast."

"Australia?" He stopped shaking the box. "You?"

Barbara shook her head. "Shut up."

Jim shook the box again. "What's in here?"

"Open it and find out."

"How about I open it when you get back? We can have a gift opening ceremony. Just you and me."

Barbara chuckled. "Okay." She opened the door and Jim left.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Ivy and Barbara packed the cab with their suitcases and made their way to the airport.

"Holy shit," Barbara said as she stepped out of the cab, in awe because of the large private jet. "You bought this for the two of us?"

"Yes," Ivy said, getting out of the car.

Barbara turned to her. "I know you're kind of rich now but you know you don't have to do all this for me, right?"

Ivy chuckled. "This isn't for you necessarily. I've grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle but most importantly, it's the most eco friendly way to fly."

"Oh," Barbara said. "And here I thought you were trying to buy my love."

Ivy smirked. "I already have it, remember?"

"Yeah, you do."

The driver began pulling their bags from the car and loading it onto the plane. Barbara and Ivy walked up the steps and entered the jet.

On one side, there was a table in between two white, leather seats. Behind one of the seats was four seats, two facing the other. On the other side, there was a large white couch with three ocean blue pillows laying on it. In another section there was four seats on one side, two facing each other with a table in between and the same on the other side.

"Wow," Barbara said.

"Do you like it?"

Barbara turned to Ivy. "I love it." She gave her a quick kiss before sitting down in one of the seats. "Do you own this jet?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ivy said, sitting in the seat across from her. "I'm going to be taking frequent trips in and out of the country and this is a convenient way for me to travel because I hate having to stand in long security lines and waiting to board only to be seated next to someone annoying."

A woman with her hair in a bun walked out. "My name is Vera and I am your stewardess."

Barbara shook her hand. "Hi, I'm Barbara."

Ivy shook Vera's hand as well. "Dr. Pamela Isley but you can call me Dr. Isley."

"Barbara and Dr. Isley," Vera nodded. "Got it. Can I get either of you anything?"

"We kinda skipped breakfast," Barbara said, her cheeks slightly turning red when she noticed Ivy's playful smirk. "I'd like some of that.

Vera pulled out a notepad. "Anything in particular?"

"Ummm. Bacon, eggs and waffles."

"And for you, Dr. Isley?"

"I would like a veggie burger with extra fries."

"And what about drinks?"

"I'll have a good old fashioned mimosa."

"I'll have a glass of champagne," Ivy said. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Vera said as she finished writing down the order. "Once the plane is in the air the chef will begin preparing your orders."

"Thank you so much," Barbara said.

Vera nodded with a smile and made her way to the front.

"She seems nice," Barbara smiled.

"You would be too if you were being paid $50 an hour."

"Do you _always_ think the worst of people?"

"Yes. They're either going to prove me right or prove me wrong. I don't know if you realize it or not but you heroes have the same mindset."

"That's kind of true but it also depends on the individual. I would never think somebody like Joker is a good person but Harvey Dent seemed like a good guy before his accident. In terms of heroes, Supergirl thinks the best of _everyone_ and is proven wrong more often than not but she never stops believing in the goodness of people."

The jet began taking off.

"Did you two ever... date?"

"Me and Supergirl?" Barbara asked, unable to contain her laughter. "Nothing _ever_ happened between us."

"So Dick is the only "hero" you've dated?"

"I very briefly dated Luke Fox."

"Interesting..."

"What about you? Who have you dated?"

"Before I became, well, poison, I dated a few people, nothing really serious. After that, the only person I trusted enough to have a romantic relationship with is Harley but of course that was until two nights ago."

"You trust me?" Barbara asked, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"With my heart, yes."

"Wait, I thought you and Selina had a thing."

"A one time thing."

"I very clearly remember you saying "I didn't make Selina immune our first time" which implies there was a second time and maybe even more."

Ivy opened her mouth to say something but the words didn't come out.

Barbara gasped. "It was more than once, wasn't it?"

"Maybe."

"Oh, come on Ivy. You can tell me the official number of times you had sex with _Batman's girlfriend _."__

__"...Three."_ _

__A look of shock was on Barbara's face. "Oh... my... god." She scrunched her face, wanting but not wanting to know the answer to her next question. "Was it good?"_ _

__"It's me and Selina." Ivy raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her face. "What do you think?"_ _

__"Does Bruce know?"_ _

__"Yes," Ivy said proudly. "I told him myself."_ _

__Barbara sighed. "Oh, to be a fly on the wall in that moment."_ _

__~~~~~~~~~~_ _

__Barbara and Ivy laid on the couch, Ivy being the big spoon and Barbara the little. Ivy sat her head up and looked around. The jet was now landing._ _

__"Barbara," Ivy whispered. "Barbara wake up," she said when she got no response. "We're here."_ _

__"Hmm?" Barbara stirred awake._ _

__"We're here."_ _

__Barbara stretched her body. "That felt so good." She sat up and looked out the window. "What day is it?"_ _

__"Monday."_ _

__Barbara yawned. "I thought it was Christmas already." She leaned in for a kiss but Ivy held her at arms length._ _

__"You need to brush your teeth first."_ _

__"Why?" Barbara whined. "I just want a small kiss. A peck."_ _

__"No."_ _

__"A cheek kiss?"_ _

__"No."_ _

__"A-"_ _

__"No."_ _

__Barbara stood up. "See if I ever kiss you again."_ _

__Ivy stared at her for a long moment before bursting into a fit of laughter when she realized Barbara was serious. Barbara waved her off and went into the bathroom._ _

__An hour after they landed, they checked into their one bedroom apartment at Peppers Soul Surfers Paradise and settled in._ _

__Barbara sat in the middle of the bed in her robe, typing on the computer when Ivy walked into the bedroom with two smoothies in her hand._ _

__"What are you doing?" Ivy asked._ _

__"Umm... nothing..."_ _

__Ivy handed her a smoothie, eying her curiously as she climbed onto the bed and sat next to her. She looked at the screen and noticed something she'd seen her do before._ _

__"Are you hacking the hotels security systems?"_ _

__"Yes," Barbara replied. She took a sip of her drink._ _

__"On vacation?"_ _

__"I can't help it." She turned to Ivy. "You can take Barbara out of Gotham but you can't take the Batgirl out of Barbara... something like that." She turned back to the computer._ _

__"...Did you bring your suit?"_ _

__"No. I actually left that back home."_ _

__"What will you wear if you do find yourself having to catch a criminal?"_ _

__Barbara closed her computer. "I guess I'll have to improvise."_ _

__Ivy took the smoothie from Barbara's hand and sat it down on the nightstand. She sat on top of her thighs. "I know something we could do to pass the time."_ _

__Barbara squinted at her. "I said I wasn't kissing you again."_ _

__"What if I kissed you?"_ _

__A smile crept onto Barbara's face. "Okay."_ _

__Ivy moved Barbara's hair to one side and peppered kisses from her neck to her jaw before stopping on the corner of her lips. "Can I kiss you here?" Ivy asked, running her thumb along Barbara's bottom lip._ _

__Barbara nodded, biting her lip in anticipation. Ivy leaned down and kissed Barbara softly on the lips before once again moving to her neck, nipping, biting and sucking at her pulse point._ _

__"Mmmmmm... damn..."_ _

__Ivy stopped. She moved her hands between them and undid Barbara's robe, slowly pushing it down her shoulders and exposing Barbara's naked body._ _

__Barbara moved a hand to the back if Ivy's neck and pulled her in for a passionate kiss filled with lust._ _

__Ivy gently pushed Barbara on her back, their lips still attached and their tongues moving against each others in a heated bliss. She lightly grazed Barbara's abdomen with her nails, guiding them to where she knew the redhead wanted her most._ _

__She rubbed sloppy circles around Barbara's clit, causing her to buck her hips forward. She smiled in satisfaction, proud that she could make Barbara come undone with a simple touch. She dipped two fingers into Barbara’s slick pussy and removed them before bringing the glistening digits to her mouth._ _

__Barbara opened her eyes at the loss of contact. “I-“ She watched as Ivy sucked the fingers that had previously been inside her._ _

__Ivy locked eyes with Barbara and cleaned the remaining juices off her fingers. Barbara surged forward and captured Ivy's lips in a heated kiss. She moaned into Ivy's mouth, still loving the taste of herself on her lover._ _

__Ivy latched her lips onto Barbara's neck, sliding two fingers inside of her. She moved them in and out, using her thumb to rub circles on her clit._ _

__"Ooohh yesss, Ivy," she groaned, holding Ivy close and not wanting to let her go as the sweet sensations became too much. She closed her eyes as Ivy quickened the pace and repeatedly hit her g-spot. "You feel so good inside of me, baby."_ _

__"I love you," Ivy mumbled into her neck when she felt Barbara's body tremble._ _

__"I love you, too" Barbara breathed out but Ivy kept going. "I love you," she moaned into Ivy's neck. "I'm gonna... fucckkk... cum again."_ _

__Ivy continued her thrusts into Barbara's soaking pussy. "I won't stop unless you want me too."_ _

__"Keep... going," Barbara responded. She scratched and clawed at Ivy's back as orgasm after orgasm after orgasm hit her. "I... fuck... I can't," she said after the last one._ _

__Ivy slowed her movements before pulling her fingers from Barbara's dripping cunt. She hovered over Barbara, her long red hair encasing them in a world of their own._ _

__"Nobody's ever made me cum that many times," Barbara said._ _

__"I aim to please," Ivy smiled._ _

__"Can we stay in today? We can go out tomorrow."_ _

__"Or we can stay in for the remainder of our time here."_ _

__"Not a chance," Barbara laughed. "We should socialize with other people."_ _

__"But I don't want to."_ _

__"It's not up for debate."_ _

__"Yes it is."_ _

__"No it isn't."_ _

__"I don't like people."_ _

__"You like me."_ _

__"Not right now."_ _

__"You love me, though."_ _

__"I do."_ _

__"If you love me, you'll socialize with me."_ _

__"I don't love you _that_ much."_ _

__"Yes you do."_ _

__Ivy shook her head. "Nope."_ _

__Barbara shrugged. "I guess I'll have to socialize alone. I'm sure single people _love_ flirting with a woman at the bar by herself."_ _

__Ivy narrowed her eyes at her. "Fine." She sat up next to Barbara._ _

__Barbara gently rubbed Ivy's back when she noticed the claw marks. "I'm sorry."_ _

__"It's okay," Ivy said, turning to her. "I didn't mind it."_ _

__"It'll heal, right?"_ _

__"Yes."_ _

__"Did you like it?"_ _

__"Maybe."_ _

__Barbara smiled. "You naughty girl."_ _

__They spent the rest of the day having sex, eating food and enjoying each others company._ _


	12. Adventures In Australia PART TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas Eve and Barbara and Ivy are given relationship advice from a couple who have been married for 58 years. Barbara questions why Ivy loves her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Explicit sexual content at the end. Feel free to skip if you aren't comfortable!

Ivy checked herself out in the mirror. She wore a tight pair of dark blue jean shorts and a white tank top. "You look _marvelous_ ," she said. She sat down on the bed and put on her red heels.

Barbara walked out of the bathroom wearing dark blue overalls and a red turtleneck underneath with red thigh high boots on her feet.

"I just remembered today is Christmas Eve," Ivy said. She looked up at her, a confused look on her face. "It's 90 degrees outside. You could pass out."

Barbara put on her dark brown cowboy hat. "I know but we're going to a wildlife park and I don't want anything to bite me. I'll change afterwards."

Ivy stood up and walked over to her. "As long as you're comfortable," she said. She fixed the hat on Barbara's head. "You look really cute with this on."

"Thanks, babe, and Merry Christmas Eve." She examined Ivy's outfit. "Damn. You look _hot_."

"So do you, both literally and figuratively," Ivy smiled. "The car is waiting for us downstairs."

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara and Ivy were sitting in the lobby of the wildlife park.

"If we see a snake, I'm leaving," Barbara said.

"You're afraid of snakes?"

"They're _venomous_ ," she said as if her fear was warranted which, to her, it was.

"Not all snakes are but even then, the venomous ones can't hurt you."

Barbara contorted her face in disgust. "Yeah but they're slimy and slithery."

A man wearing a khaki shirt and matching shorts walked over to them. "Hello ladies. Welcome to the David Fleay Wildlife park," he said, his accent thick. "My name is Jack and I'll be your tour guide for today."

"Dr. Isley," Ivy said as she shook his hand.

Barbara shook his hand as well. "Barbara."

Jack smiled brightly. "You can follow me and I'll show you around."

Barbara and Ivy followed him around the park. He showed them different kinds of animals, giving a brief summary of each one they saw. He then took them to the kangaroo sanctuary where a large group of kangaroos and three wildlife experts were.

"They're really cute," Ivy said as they stepped into the sanctuary. She noticed Barbara held her hand tighter as they moved closer to the creatures and it brought a tiny smile to her face. She liked being the protector.

They walked over to a woman surrounded by four kangaroos. She shook both of their hands. "My name is Tara and I'm one of the caretakers here in the sanctuary. Would either of you like to feed them?"

"They're not gonna kick us, are they?" Barbara asked.

"No," Tara laughed. "It's extremely rare for them to attack humans unprovoked unless you're in the wild. There, they have a tendency to be very territorial, especially the males."

Jack reached into one of the buckets on the ground and pulled out a carrot. "Most kangaroos are herbivores so all they eat are fruits, vegetables and pellets." He handed it to Barbara. "You're not food to them."

Barbara took the carrot and positioned it at the mouth of the kangaroo. The kangaroo began eating it and it made her smile. "This is kind of cool."

One of the baby kangaroos bounced toward Ivy and nudged her with it's nose. She pet the top of it's head. "If I had to pick a favorite animal, I think kangaroos would be it." The baby nudged her again.

"Babe, I think it can sense the plant in you," Barbara chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I'm a metahuman," Ivy responded. "A human-plant hybrid."

"Ahhh. I see," Tara said. "A metahuman like the Flash. I love that guy."

Ivy glared at Tara before turning her attention to the baby kangaroo.

"If you are part plant, you might want to back away from him. He might take a bite out of ya."

"I highly doubt it considering I'm poison. He can sense the plant side of me but he knows better then to take a bite."

"Ummm..."

Ivy turned to Jack and Tara. "You don't have to worry. My toxicity levels are as low as they can be. I won't hurt them."

"Good to know," Tara said, her brows furrowed.

"Speaking of plants," Jack piped up, "the last stop on the tour is the garden. I can take you both now if you'd like."

"I would love that," Ivy replied.

The three of them walked through a large field filled with different sized trees ranging from sprouts to fully grown. A man was standing before them raking through the dirt and sprinkling seeds in the ground.

Barbara turned to Jack. "So, no snakes or spiders on the tour?"

"If you want to see them I can-"

"Oh no," Barbara laughed nervously. "That's okay. I'm not a fan of snakes and spiders."

"Is that why you're dressed the way you are, mate? It's really hot out here. How are you not burning up?"

"Oh, I am but in the battle of fear and logic, fear won."

"It's very odd knowing you're afraid of something," Ivy said. "I've always known you to be fearless."

"Do you find me less attractive now?"

"...yes."

Barbara gave her a death stare. "I don't like you anymore."

"I'm joking," Ivy laughed.

"You have the sense of humor of an 80 year old scottish man," Barbara said.

"I thought you said I had the sense of humor of a tomato?"

"You do."

Jack snickered. "You guys are adorable. How long have you been together, if you don't mind my asking?"

"5 months," Ivy replied.

"Our first real date was Saturday," Barbara said.

"How come?"

"We were _really_ busy," Barbara answered.

"Good afternoon. My name is Lionel and I'm the gardener here at the park. I would shake your hands but mine are dirty."

"That's okay," Barbara said she looked around at the field that seemed to go on for miles. "I've never seen this much green in my life."

Ivy bent down and touched a small sprout. "The Green... it's happy here."

Barbara turned to her. "What are they saying?"

"They're singing."

"It's such a beautiful sound," Lionel said.

"You can hear them?" Ivy asked.

"If I listen closely."

"I can hear it all," Ivy said. She placed her hands in the dirt and closed her eyes. "You all should back up a bit."

"What are you doing?" Jack asked as he followed instructions and backed up.

Barbara backed up as well, a warm smile on her face as she watched Ivy. "She's gonna make it grow."

Ivy focused all her energy into the sprout. It instantly grew and grew until it was a full grown tree. She stood up and dusted her hands off.

"Holy fucking shit. That was- what are you? Some kind of Goddess?"

"You could say that," Ivy smirked.

"A peach tree," Jack said. He jumped up and pulled off the lowest hanging peach and bit it. "Mmmmm. This is the best peach I've ever tasted, mate, you have to try this."

Lionel took the peach from Jack and bit it. "Oh my goodness. That's a good peach."

Ivy directed a brand down.

"Thank you." Barbara kissed Ivy on the cheek before picking the peach. She bit into it. "It's so juicy."

"I'm sure it is," Ivy laughed.

Lionel pointed at Ivy. "You are a very special lady."

"She is," Barbara said, proudly smiling up at Ivy.

"She's also a doctor," Jack chimed in. "She's pretty awesome."

Ivy hated it but she couldn't help blushing at the kind words. "Thank you. I would love to stick around a bit longer but we have lunch to get to."

Jack looked at his watch. "The parks closing in about 15 minutes. I'll walk with you cause I have to go that way anyway."

"Lionel," Ivy said.

"Yes?"

"Take care of them because if you don't, I'll be back for you," she said, her tone serious.

"We wouldn't want that now, would we?" He nervously chuckled. "Enjoy your holidays!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara and Ivy sat at the bar of a restaurant that overlooked the beach, dressed in their bikinis and a pair of shorts.

"This place is so pretty and colorful," Ivy said.

"Almost as pretty as you," Barbara smiled. She leaned in for a soft kiss.

"You're so sweet," Ivy blushed.

"What can I get for you ladies?" the bartender asked, a notepad in his hands.

Ivy skimmed through the menu in front of her. "I'll have a grilled chicken sandwich with the special sauce and a glass of lemonade."

"Would you like fries with the sandwich?"

"Yes, thank you."

"And I'll have the cheeseburger sliders with a side of sweet potato fries and a coke."

"And will that be all?"

"Yes," Ivy said.

"Thank you," Barbara said. She turned to Ivy, her brows furrowed. "I thought you didn't eat meat."

"I never said I didn't, I just don't particularly like greasy foods," Ivy responded. "Well, I do like fries on occasion."

"You two are a very lovely couple," an older woman around 80 said from her seat next to Barbara. "Where are you from?"

"Gotham City," Ivy said.

"Oooh Gotham. Have you met that hunky Batman?"

"I have," Barbara chuckled.

"What's he like?"

"He's an asshole," Ivy answered.

"He's not," Barbara said, playfully slapping Ivy's arm. "He's ummm... he can be a real piece of work but he's a good guy."

"My kind of guy," the woman said.

"What's your name?" Barbara asked.

"Patty."

"Nice to meet you, Patty." She held her hand out but Patty waved her off.

"Nonsense, girlie, I only accept hugs." She leaned in and hugged Barbara.

"Are you here with anyone?" Barbara asked.

"I'm waiting for my husband. He's in the dunny or the men's room as you Americans would say."

"Patty, honey leave those nice ladies alone."

"Oh hush, Harry. We're just chatting."

Harry sat down next to Patty. "Nice to meet you ladies."

"I'm Barbara and this is my girlfriend Ivy." She pointed to Ivy and Ivy waved.

"Beautiful names," Patty said.

"Thank you," Barbara smiled. "How long have you two been married?"

"58 years," Harry said. "She's the love of my life."

"Are you two married?" Patty asked.

"Oh, no. We only started dating a few months ago," Barbara smiled.

"Do you plan on getting married?"

"Maybe some day," Barbara said. "What's been your secret to staying married for all these years?"

"Good communication," Harry said. "It's very important to a long lasting relationship."

"So is good sex," Patty whispered to Barbara.

Barbara chuckled. "I can tell you are a handful."

"She is," Harry said. "Love. Love is also important. It's the main reason our marriage has lasted so long."

Patty nodded. "Without love, what else do we have?"

Ivy smiled. 

"Do you two love each other?" Harry asked.

"How come you're so quiet, sweetie?" Patty asked Ivy. "We don't bite. Well, only each other."

"I'm just listening," Ivy said. "To answer your question, yes, we do love each other. Very much."

"I've always been a believer that love is a choice," Patty began, "sure, you feel other things but love, true love is a choice. Your willingness to be with someone for the rest of your life shouldn't be based on a feeling because feelings come and go. Love should never do that. It should always be present."

"Hmm. I never thought of it that way," Barbara said.

Patty turned to Harry and ruffled his hair. "I choose to love this knucklehead and I want to be with him forever."

"Goddamnit, Patty. Now I have to go fix it again." Harry got up and walked back to the bathroom.

Patty and Barbara burst into a fit of laughter. 

"That wasn't very nice," Barbara said.

"I'll make it up to him later," Patty said with a wink.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You don't even like talking to old people?" Barbara asked as they set up their blanket on the sand.

"I'm not fond of _humans_ , that includes all of them. Although, I do tolerate children."

"So there's really only three humans you like?" Barbara asked as she sat down on the blanket. "Well four, if you count the woman who raised you."

"Six, actually," Ivy said, sitting next to her. "Her grandchildren are my godchildren. I was really close with their mother but she passed away a few years ago."

"Wow. Sorry to hear that."

Ivy sighed. "I haven't seen them in a long time.

"You should visit them."

"Honestly, I'm afraid to. I don't know if Caroline will be happy to see me after all these years and the boys probably don't remember me."

"You'll never know until you go see them."

"I'll think about it."

The stars were out as the skies had become darker over the last few hours. Barbara leaned on Ivy's shoulder as they watched a group of kids running around and kicking a soccer ball.

"Can I ask you a question?" Barbara asked.

"You can ask me a second one."

"Would you marry me?"

Ivy turned her head. "Are you asking me to marry you?"

"No. I mean, if we were together for a while, is marriage on the table?"

Ivy shrugged. "I never put much thought into it, mostly because of my own parents marriage but it is on the table. Why? Is marriage something you want?"

"Maybe? I don't know. It's not like I need a ring and piece of paper as proof I love you but referring to you as my wife is god tier bragging rights," Barbara laughed, forcing a heartwarming smile on Ivy's face.

"If in the future we feel it's right, I would love nothing more than to put a ring on your finger."

"What about Harley? Would she really be okay if you married me?"

"I could marry the both of you."

"Harley and I as sister wives? It's oddly appealing."

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?" Ivy asked.

"And do what?" Barbara asked, biting her lip.

"Through the flowers at a table, I overheard a woman talking about a poker game that's taking place here at the hotel tomorrow night."

"You think we should go?"

"Yes because I also overheard her saying something about The Four Horsemen."

"Like the wrestlers?"

"No. These Four Horsemen are high ranking mob bosses in the Gold Coast. Their minions, also known as stallions, do their bidding."

"They said all this at the table?"

"Believe it or not, yes. Apparently the woman oversees the entire game."

Barbara raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were supposed to be on vacation?"

"We are but that doesn't mean we can't catch a few bad guys."

" _You_ wanna catch the bad guys?"

"I will admit that when I saw you hacking the security systems I was mildly upset but now that I've acquired this information, I have this urge to do something about it."

Barbara wrapped her arms around Ivy's neck, tackling her on the blanket. "My girl's having a hero moment." She kissed her on the lips. "I'm really, _really_ proud of you."

~~~~~~~~~~

Barbara was sitting in a large bathtub full of bubbles. Her eyes were closed when Ivy walked in.

"You look really relaxed," Ivy said as she began disrobing. "Do you still want me to join?"

Barbara opened her eyes, marvelling at the curves of Ivy's naked body. "Yes, please." She sat up and leaned against the back of the tub.

Ivy stepped in and sat in front of Barbara, her back to the front of the redhead's bare chest. "This feels nice."

"The water or my boobs on your back?"

"Both," Ivy chuckled.

Barbara held Ivy close to her, wrapping her arms around Ivy's abdomen and resting her chin on her shoulder. "Ivy?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you love me?"

"What made you ask that?"

"Curiosity. Also, what Patty said about love being a choice."

"I don't know _all_ the reasons I love you. Overtime, I'm sure it will become clearer to me but right now, the main reason I love you is because you love me and you make me want to be a better person."

"No one's ever made you want that?"

"Harley always believed I could be good but her definition of good sometimes involves us doing bad things. Selina and Bruce believed that I could be good but their method was to manipulate me. You made an effort to try and understand me and didn't have to manipulate me to make me want to be good. You never gave up on me and gave me chances even when I didn't deserve it. I don't think I deserve you, Barbara, but I have you and that's part of why I love you."

Barbara sniffled. "You really do know how to make a girl feel special."

Ivy turned to her. "Are you crying?" she asked softly, moving her hand to Barbara's face to wipe away the tears despite the water wetting her face more.

"No. My eyes are sweating."

Ivy fully turned to her, holding herself up on her hands and knees. "Why are you crying?"

"I was thinking about a quote from one of my favorite books. Ivy, I love you against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."

""Once for all; I love her none the less because I knew it, and it had no more influence in restraining me, than if I had devoutly believed her to be human perfection.""

"You know Great Expectations?"

"I do," Ivy said. She climbed into Barbara's lap, whispering on her lips, "I love you."

"I love you, too." She leaned forward and brought their mouths together in a hard kiss. She trailed her fingers up Ivy's thigh.

Ivy’s hand moved from the back of Barbara's head to her cheek, bringing their faces even closer together. She gasped at the first contact of Barbara’s fingertips against her folds.

"Mmmm," Barbara moaned directly into Ivy's mouth as she slid her fingers up and down her lips, slowly and methodically. The soft moans from Ivy sent a fissure of energy through her.

Ivy’s hips started to move in tandem with Barbara’s circles, obviously impatient for her release.

“Do you want me inside you, Ivy?”

“Yes.” Ivy was openly panting at this point, her hips never ceasing their undulation.

“Yes what? I need to hear you say it."

“I want your fingers inside of me, Barbara, I want you inside of me.” Their foreheads were pressed together now, Ivy’s eyes squeezed together, her teeth biting her lip. The pressure against her clit was so maddeningly close to what she needed but never enough. “I need you to fuck me.”

Barbara hadn’t thought she could be wetter than she already was, but she was wrong. “Fuck, Ivy.” She pushed two of her fingers into Ivy’s pussy.

Being inside of her was like heaven and she was already missing it. It drove her crazy as Ivy started to ride her fingers without abandon, her head thrown back and the water beginning to splash onto the floor.

Watching Ivy’s face intently, she slipped a third finger into her and started rubbing her clit roughly with her palm.

Ivy was falling apart around her thrusting fingers.

Barbara could feel her tightening around her. She could feel how close she was.

“Let me see you cum, Ivy."

Ivy’s hands both flew to the back of Barbara’s head and brought their foreheads together as her whole body went stiff with pleasure.

A white-hot feeling of satisfaction gripped Ivy's body as she clamped down on Barbara’s fingers, still buried so deeply inside of her. She rarely felt closer to her than in these moments, with their faces pressed closely together and so intimately connected.

She could feel her toes curling as the aftershocks of her orgasm were amplified by Barbara’s soft strokes guiding her through her climax.

Her smile was lazy as she planted a satisfied, passionate kiss on Barbara’s lips. "I want to taste you but I can't do that in this tub."

"If we get out, we'll get dirty again," Barbara playfully smirked.

"That's the point," Ivy breathed out.


	13. Merry Christmas!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara and Ivy exchange gifts on Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been super busy lately but I did have this small part written for almost 2 months now so I decided why not upload it and just let it be it's own little chapter? It's really short but I hope you all enjoy it!

Barbara walked into the hotel room carrying a few bags in her hands. She took them to the kitchen as the driver, Vince, followed behind with more bags. He sat them on the counter.

"Thank you so much, Vince." Barbara reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet.

"Oh, no. That's not necessary Ms. Gordon. I don't accept tips from friends."

"Are you sure?"

"Very much so," Vince smiled. "Is Dr. Isley still sleeping?"

"I believe so," Barbara answered, shrugging her jacket off and hang it on the back of a chair.

With Vince's help, Barbara began storing the food in the cabinets and refrigerator, except for the ingredients she planned on using to cook.

"Would you like to stay for breakfast?" she asked when they finished.

"I wouldn't want to intrude on your vacation. Do enjoy, though," he said, moving toward the door.

"Thanks again, Vince."

Vince opened the door. "My pleasure, Ms. Gordon." He waved at Barbara and shut the door behind him.

After Barbara finished cooking the pancakes, bacon and eggs, she went into the bedroom to check on her sleeping beauty who was, in fact, still sleeping. She climbed into the bed and propped herself up on her elbow next to Ivy who was laying on her back and facing Barbara's direction, her chest rising and falling slowly.

Ivy was so peaceful when she slept and it made Barbara think back to when the reformed villain was still committing crimes. Was this how she slept? Was sleep always this peaceful for her?

Ivy did say she focused more on the happiness of the green but Barbara wondered if sometimes those cries of pain managed to slip through. Could she hear them now? Barbara reached over and placed a hand on Ivy's chest. Her heart rate was normal which meant she likely wasn't having a nightmare and if she was, it was very hard to tell.

A content smile pulled at her lips as she bent down and kissed Ivy lightly on hers. When she pulled back, there was a weak smile on Ivy's face.

"Merry Christmas, sweet pea."

"Merry Christmas," Barbara said. "Were you awake this whole time?"

"Maybe," Ivy chuckled. She groaned as she stretched her body. "Ugh. That feels so good."

"I made some breakfast if you want some. Non-greasy bacon, just like you like it."

"You made breakfast?" Ivy asked, confusion on her face.

"Why do you sound so surprised? I can cook my ass off."

"Please don't," Ivy chuckled. She pulled Barbara on top of her and cupped her ass. "I like it too much."

Barbara's cheeks turned a bright shade of red. "I went to the market to get some things. I was going to see if you wanted to come but you were sleeping so peacefully and I didn't wanna to wake you."

"Thank you, honeybun." She gave Barbara a quick kiss.

"Honeybun?"

"Yes."

"Never thought I'd hear that come out of tour mouth but I like it," Barbara said. She removed herself from atop Ivy and got up off the bed.

Ivy followed her into the kitchen. When she walked through the opening, she surveyed the large stack of pancakes and bacon on the counter. "This is a lot of food, even for you."

"As you know, my appetite has grown exponentially. If I have to eat 4,500 calories a day, I figured I'd always go big for breakfast."

"Before we eat, can we exchange presents?" Ivy asked.

"Yeah, sure."

Ivy went back into the room. When she returned, her hands were behind her back. "I want to go first but you have to close your eyes."

Barbara complied and closed her eyes.

"You can open them now."

When Barbara opened her eyes, Ivy was down on one knee holding an open box with a ring in it. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't find the words.

"It's a promise ring." She took a deep breath, finding the right words. "I know I hurt you in the past and I said I would never do it again. This ring is a symbol of that promise to you, a promise I'll never break for as long as I live."

Ivy took the ring out of the box and sat the box on the counter. "It's your choice if you want to accept it or not."

"I accept," Barbara answered, barely letting Ivy finish her sentence.

Ivy laughed as she took Barbara's right hand. She placed the ring on her right ring finger. "Perfect fit."

Barbara pulled Ivy up and kissed her with as much passion as her body would allow. "I love you so much and because I love you, you are your own present."

"What?"

Barbara took Ivy's hands in hers. "I want to see all of you."

"You want me to... get naked?"

"No," Barbara laughed. "I mean the other part of you."

"Barbara..."

"Please?"

Ivy let go of Barbara's hands and stepped back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, her complexion was green. She stared at Barbara as if she expected her to run.

Barbara reached a hand out to Ivy but Ivy flinched. "You can't hurt me, remember?" She reached her hand out again.

Ivy allowed Barbara to hold her hands this time. "I hate this, Barbara," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me. I want you to be your complete self, Ivy, green and all." She brought her hands to Ivy's face and cupped her cheeks. "I know you're extremely vulnerable right now but I want you to know that I love all of you, not just the human parts."

Ivy felt herself relaxing but for some reason, it was still hard for her. She changed her complexion back to it's natural tan. "Baby steps."

Barbara nodded. "Baby steps."

Ivy wrapped her arms around Barbara, holding her tight. "I never realized how short you were until now."

"Oh, please. You're like six feet so everyone's short to you."

"That is very true." She kissed Barbara on the forehead. "Okay, we can eat now."

**Author's Note:**

> For requests, prompts and additional commentary, message me on Tumblr at dreaduquesne and twitter at whoreofivy.
> 
> Also leave kudos and comments. Thank you!!!!


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